49 killed in storms in central, southwest China
Pastor Dale Morgan
49 killed in storms in central, southwest China*
SHANGHAI, June 23 (AFP) Jun 23, 2007
The death toll from recent torrential rains in central and southwest
China that triggered flash floods and landslides rose to 49 and 23
missing, the government reported Saturday.
The poor weather that began more than a week ago has left 403,000
homeless and affected more 10 million people, Xinhua news agency said.
The government calculated agricultural damage totalled 1.33 billion yuan
170 million dollars) while the total direct economic losses were 1.79
billion yuan.
The state flood control headquarters added that the heavy rains had
greatly alleviated drought conditions that have plagued the area since
early last year.
Last year, China witnessed some of the worst flooding in years, when
nearly 3,000 people were reported killed or went missing in the annual
deluges that strike the nation's rural areas.
Meanwhile, extreme heat and dry conditions in north-eastern China had
prompted a drought Liaoning province that had left 1.3 million people
without enough water, Xinhua said.
The report said that 25 million hectares (60 million acres) of fields,
or more than half the province's total acreage, had been affected as
reservoirs and wells had dried up.