Perilous Times and Climate Change
Thousands of homes flattened as more floods drench China
By the CNN Wire Staff
July 22, 2010 12:29 p.m. EDT
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: State media: Government officials say aging reservoirs are
strained to their limit
* Typhoon Chanthu made landfall in southern China and could dump 20
inches of rain
* More than 700 have died in floods this year in China's worst
flooding in a decade
(CNN) -- Relentless flooding has led to the collapse of 5,700 houses
and the relocation of at least 152,000 residents in northeastern China
this week, the state-run news agency Xinhua said Thursday.
This year's torrential rains and flooding have been the worst in a
decade, claiming the lives of 701 people and leaving 347 missing,
Xinhua said, citing government figures.
The state-run newspaper China Daily reported that flooding this year
has caused 142.2 billion yuan ($21 billion) in damage.
Government officials say the flood reinforcements of thousands of aging
reservoirs in the country are strained to their limit, China Daily said.
Zhou Xuewen, head of the planning department with the Ministry of Water
Resources, told the newspaper that the government is planning to
reinforce all small reservoirs.
China has about 81,000 small-sized reservoirs, many of which were
completed between 1958 and 1976, China Daily reported.
"We have reinforced about 9,200 reservoirs, but most small-sized
reservoirs need maintenance and reinforcement," Zhou told the newspaper.
According to Xinhua, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said that much of
the damage is in the northeastern provinces of Liaoning and Jilin. The
civil affairs department of Liaoning has sent tents and quilts to the
affected regions.
The ministry's statement Thursday comes the same day Chanthu, the third
typhoon of the season, made landfall in southern China, bringing winds
of 115 kilometers per hour (71 miles per hour).
Chanthu could drench some rain-swollen areas with another 20 inches of
rain, CNN meteorologist Jenny Harrison said.