Deadly floods show no let-up across China
Pastor Dale Morgan
Deadly floods show no let-up across China*
Reuters
Saturday, July 21, 2007; 10:38 PM
BEIJING (Reuters) - Fifty-nine people have died in floods and landslides
in southwest China where dykes protecting a swollen river in the east,
where tens of thousands have fled their homes, are in danger of being
breached.
Severe flooding has hit about half of China since the start of the
summer, killing hundreds in what has become the deadliest rainy season
in years. At least 40 people have died in storms in coastal Shandong
province in the east.
The 59 died after rainstorms in mountainous Yunnan province, Xinhua news
agency said on Sunday.
Rains destroyed more than 4,000 houses and damaged thousands of hectares
of crops. A 110-mile highway linking Tengchong county in Yunnan and
Myanmar had been severed by mud-rock flows.
In eastern China, the already swollen middle and lower reaches of the
Huai river, China's third longest, face a severe test with the water
level expected to stay dangerously high for at least another 10 days,
Xinhua said.
Heavy rain was forecast to continue to hit large swathes of China
through the weekend, including the Huai River basin.
More than 1 million people have been evacuated in Henan, Anhui and
Jiangsu provinces from the projected path of floodwaters from the Huai.
There have been no reports of deaths.
"The dykes that have soaked in high water level for 19 days will be at
an increased risk of breach in the coming 10 days," Xinhua quoted an
official with flood control headquarters in Anhui province as saying.
Rains during the past few days had caused another 329,000 acres around
the river to be flooded, bringing the total flooded area to 628,000 acres.
"Currently 182,000 people in Anhui are working to control flooding in
the Huai," Xinhua said.
Four women were killed in building wall collapse in Zhejiang province in
the east on Saturday which local sources blamed on heavy winds and rain.
"Leaders warned local people to be on alert for lightning strikes and
rainstorms and companies to ensure safety especially in construction
sites," Xinhua said.