Floods force China to evacuate more people
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E-mail Xinhua, August 20, 2013
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A resident is displaced in Puning, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 18, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua] |
About 500,000 people in Guangdong had been evacuated and more than 4.17 million people were affected in 583 towns by Monday afternoon, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.
The maximum rainfall was recorded in Gaotan Township, Huidong County with 906 mm precipitation within 24 hours, a case rarely seen in a millennium.
In coastal Shantou City, 25 villages at Chendian Township and 15 villages at Simapu Township of Chaonan District are still flooded.
It was impossible to drain off water as the power supply in Chendian Township was cut off.
Wang Yuanguo said the water was more than two meters high at Gangxi Village, Simapu Township when he contacted his father by phone for the last time on Monday morning.
"Fifty hours after the downpour, there is no water and power supply," said Wang, who currently lives in the provincial capital of Guangzhou. "The food is finished and the situation is worrisome."
A section of the Lianjiang River dam has burst, which raised the water level in the village. Villagers are forced to live in buildings above two stories, according to Wang.
The Chaonan district government is allocating more than 30,000 kg of bread and 2,200 cases of bottled water to the affected villagers, said Zheng Jianwei, a district government official.
The rainfall is weakening in Guangdong, which is good news for the flood relief efforts, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.
In neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 12 people were killed by typhoon-triggered floods as of 6 p.m. on Monday, according to the regional civil affairs department.
More than 110,000 people have been evacuated and over 1.15 million people were affected by the floods in 47 counties and districts, according to the department.
Some 2,986 rural houses have collapsed and 38,050 hectares of farmland were affected in the floods. The economic losses are estimated to be 447 million yuan (72.46 million U.S. dollars), according to the department.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs allocated 2,600 tents, 5,000 folding beds and 5,000 quilts to Guangxi on Monday afternoon to aid the relief efforts.
