150 Confirmed Dead in Flooding in Northwest China

Home>>China

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, June 12, 2002

150 Confirmed Dead in Flooding in Northwest China

At least 150 people were confirmed dead and hundreds feared missing Wednesday after torrential rains and flooding hit northern China's Shaanxi province, anti-flood official said.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Floods Wreak Havoc in Northwest Province

At least 150 people were confirmed dead and hundreds feared missing Wednesday after torrential rains and flooding hit northern China's Shaanxi province, anti-flood official said.

Rescue workers and soldiers were mobilised Wednesday to continue searching for victims of the flooding that began after some 489 millimeters (19.5 inches) of rain fell on the region between June 8 and June 10.

More than 300 towns and villages were affected and 80,000 homes were damaged by the flooding, caused by the heavy rain which fell in the southern part of the province along the Hanjiang river, the official said.

Land and mud slides were hampering rescue operations under cloudy skies Wednesday as some 526 kilometers (315 miles) of provincial roadways were blocked and 13 bridges damaged.

Traffic Resumes on Flood-damaged Railway in NW China

The hardest hit area was in Foping and Ningshan county, a rural mountainous region some 100 kilometers (60 miles) south and southwest of the provincial capital of Xi'an, which has witnessed years of drought.

Some 25 people were killed in Ningshan county and up to 180 missing and at least 4,000 people homeless, a local official said.

Other officials in the region feared the numbers could increase as telephone and electric lines throughout the area were toppled.

Water levels on 18 rivers in the province were rising due to the flooding, while run off on the Ziwu river and the Xun river, major branches of the Hanjiang river, reached historic highs.

But fatalities are expected to increase as farmers in the area had been planting crops in dry river beds and stream gulleys where they often set up makeshift homes, officials said.

Railway workers were also carefully monitoring a newly-built rail head over the Bahe river some 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Xi'an that was built Monday after a 368-meter rail bridge over the river collapsed because of the flooding on Sunday.

More than 40,000 rail passengers were stranded in Xi'an after the collapse of the bridge, while trains passing over the new rail head must do so with extreme caution, reports said.

The provincial government has set up an emergency headquarters in the capital of Xi'an, while the People's Liberation Army has formed 19 special units to fight flooding and engage in rescue operations.

Meanwhile, some 400 kilometers (240 miles) south of the Shaanxi flooding at least 27 had died and 15 were missing from rains which Friday began pelting the Suining region of southwestern province of Sichuan, the China News Agency reported Tuesday.

In Suining city alone, 14 people had died in the floods caused by the rains, while 306,000 homes had been damaged and more than 2,000 farm animals killed, the news service reported.

Special forces deployed for flood relief

The People's Liberation Army last month set up 19 emergency military forces to fight flooding.

Army sources said that the forces were formed mainly from bridge-construction and engineering units.

An unnamed source at the army's General Staff Headquarters said: "They are responsible for flood relief and saving people if disasters happen in China's seven major rivers.''

The special forces are being deployed along the Yangtze River, Yellow River and other major rivers. They have been trained and provided with professional equipment to fight floods, the source said.

Their responsibility includes disaster inquiries, dam protection, and helping save and assist flood-hit people and their property.

In 1998 when floods hit and destroyed parts of China, about 300,000 PLA soldiers took part in disaster relief but some did not have the proper professional skills and equipment.

The troops are currently training hard for flood relief, the source said.

"China is likely to be threatened by rainstorms and floods along its major rivers this summer and we should keep alert and well-prepared,'' said the source.

Questions?Comments? Click here

Over 100 People Missing in Floods in Northwest China

China's Annual Mineral Exports, Imports Tops US$100 Billion ( 3 Messages)

Taiwan Media Reveals US Submarine Sale to Taiwan ( 10 Messages)

Jiang Hopes US to Creat a "Good Climate" for Sino-US Relations ( 3 Messages)

Sino-Russian Ties Curb US Pressures: News Analysis ( 2 Messages)

China Likely to Launch the Lowest SAR in the World ( 8 Messages)