Over 72,000 evacuated in rainstorm-hit east China

Houses are submerged in the flood in Jinqiao Town of Xinjian County, east China's Jiangxi Province, June 15, 2011. A downpour swept Xianjian Tuesday night. The precipitation in four towns of the county exceeded 200 mm within 12 hours, where over 4,000 people were forced to evacuate. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

More than 72,000 people were evacuated in east China's Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces, which have been hit by a new round of rainstorms since Tuesday.

According to the Jiangxi Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, torrential rain from Tuesday morning has pounded 25 counties and cities in the province, flooding roads and farmland.

By Wednesday afternoon, the rain had forced the evacuation of 70,100 people in Jiangxi and toppled 1,320 houses, said a spokesman with the headquarters.

Rescuers in the worst-hit city of Dexing are racing to shift 5,200 people trapped by floods to safe places, said the spokesman.

The meteorological station predicted that the rain will continue, exceeding 50 mm of accumulated rainfall in the provincial capital of Nanchang, Shangrao city and Jingdezhen city.

It recommended that residents near the center of the storm cut outdoor power supplies and refrain from outdoor activities. It also warned local governments to take preventive measures in case the rain triggers landslides, floods and mud-rock flows.

In Zhejiang, heavy rains since Tuesday have forced the evacuation of 2,059 people in 17 counties, where 79 houses were toppled and 2,370 hectares of farmland damaged, said Liu Fayuan, deputy director of the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

The downpours resulted in a landslide in the northern Qiandaohu town, where a row of warehouses were buried at about 1:34 p.m. One person was trapped four hours before being rescued.

In the southwestern Chongqing Municipality, where biggest daily rainfall reached 104.2 mm, more than 110,000 people have been affected by the downpour since Monday.

The rains toppled 120 houses, inflicting a direct economic loss of 55.5 million yuan (about 8.5 million U.S. dollars). No casualties have been reported as of yet.

According to Yan Yonghui, vice director of the city's flood control and drought relief headquarters, the rain eased the lingering drought, but there remains a shortage of drinking water for 223,000 residents and 131,900 cattle, most of whom reside in the mountainous southern area.


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Source: Xinhua

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