Floods, landslides and mudflows triggered by torrential rains
have killed 652 people in China by Sunday, according to the Office
of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
The floods, mainly in south and east China, caused 52.5 billion
yuan (US$6.9 billion) in direct economic losses, the office
said.
It added that the floods also brought down 452,000 houses,
affected 119.15 million people and 7.87 million hectares of
crops.
The office said that water levels of the swollen Huaihe River
have been above the warning line for more than 20 days and the
situation would maintain for around a week even with no more
rainfall.
The water levels at the sections of lower reaches to Wangjiaba,
a key hydrological station on the middle reaches of Huaihe, were
still 0.44 to 1.40 meters higher than the danger level on Sunday,
said the office.
Some dikes on the tributaries of the Huaihe River are in danger
of collapsing after being washed by waves of water for continuous
days, said the office.
It added a total of 268,000 people in the provinces of Henan,
Anhui, and Jiangsu were mobilized to fight floods along the Huaihe
River.
The meteorological authorities forecast heavy rains would hit
the country's southwest, northwest and northeast regions in the
coming days.
China, however, is also being plagued by drought in its northern
region including Heilongjiang Province and the Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region and even parts of its southern region.
The office said that drought has left 5.88 million people and
4.7 million heads of livestock short of drinking water and affected
9.33 million hectares of arable land.
(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2007)