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Flood kills 80 armed police officers in Fujian
(Xinhua/China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-08 07:46
Direct economic losses from the disasters were estimated to have amounted to
136 billion yuan (US$ 16.8 billion), Xinhua quoted Vice-Minister of Water
Resources E Jingping as saying.
The hardest-hit areas include the provinces of Fujian, Anhui, Zhejiang and
Hainan in southern and eastern China, which have been plagued by seven typhoons
and cyclones that claimed 205 lives.
The figures were released as East China recovered from Typhoon Longwang,
which left at least 95 people dead. Eighty of them were police cadets who were
swept away in a landslide in Fujian Province.
According to the flood-control authority, this year's major flooding period
in China is drawing close.
However, the continuous heavy rainfall during the National Day holiday has
caused the biggest flood in a decade along the lower reaches of the Weihe River
and the middle reaches of the Hanjiang River in Shaanxi and Hubei provinces.
Sections of the rivers running through Shaanxi Province in Northwest China
overflowed, forcing 359,000 people to be evacuated.
More than 4.6 million people in 61 counties were affected by floods and mud
slides, which ruined 79,800 hectares of crops and destroyed 39,200 houses.
Floodwaters also damaged railways, highways, cable lines and irrigation
infrastructure in the province. About 30,000 people have been mobilized to
reinforce embankments.
But the flood gradually receded as the water level fell below warning levels
late Thursday, Xinhua reported.
Central China's Hubei Province was also dealing with torrential rains and the
threat of widespread floods.
The water level in the middle reaches of the Hanjiang River running through
Hubei Province has risen above the danger mark. Some 20,000 people were toiling
to shore up embankments and watch for breaches.
The peak of the flood is expected to hit Xiantao, a city near provincial
capital Wuhan, on Friday night.
Floods have always been part of life in China, although officials have said
this year has been more devastating than usual.
Official statistics indicate a total of 1,343 people died from floods or
mudslides in the country last year.
Since serious flooding of the Yangtze River in 1998, China has spent billions
on flood mitigation.
Major rivers have been brought under greater control and early warning
systems have been put in place, but flash floods and landslides caused by
unprecedented rains continue to cause major damage.
Water authorities have set a target for overcoming natural disasters during
the period of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), Wang Shucheng, minister of
water resources said.
In the following five years, the ministry will further reinforce
flood-control systems with the operation of frequently used flood detention
basins. These will protect against damage and enable floodwaters to be used as a
resource, Wang said.
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