This year's flood season in China has thus far claimed 1,532 lives across the country, according to statistics provided by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs on Wednesday.

As of September 2002, floods and water logging have victimized a total of 190 million people to varying extent, destroyed 1.053 million homes, damaged 2.695 million room houses, affected 13.15 million hectares of cropland and inflicted damage on a large number of infrastructure facilities.

Local governments at various levels have displaced 2.445 million people as an emergency measure to safer and more secured places.

Most of the damage was brought on by exceptionally heavy rains which resulted in torrential floods, landslides and mud-rock flows.

Despite serious flooding in some regions and the fact that the water levels of some sections of the Yangtze River have risen above the warning level, the country's six major rivers, including the Yellow River, remain stable, the ministry source said.

Four-billion-yuan gov't funds

China's central government has thus far disbursed 4.1 billion yuan (aboutUS$ 494 million) in relief funds as well as over 16,000 tents to areas affected by flooding since June.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has responded by dispatching more than 20 teams of officials and experts to inspectthe flood situation in 13 provinces and autonomous regions.

The ministry has coordinated with other central government ministries in its relief efforts and has received donations from both home and abroad, including 18.93 million yuan (about US$2.28 million) in cash and 7.84 million yuan (about US$ 944,500) worth of goods collected by the Red Cross Society of China and the China Charity Society.

Over the past months, soldiers, police officers and militiamen have been working side by side with local residents to combat the devastating floods in the affected areas. Thanks to their joint efforts, losses have greatly reduced, the ministry said.

(People's Daily September 5, 2002)