Rainstorms and an ensuing flash flood
left three people dead and three others missing in Danjiangkou
City, central China's Hubei
Province, by 9:30 PM on Monday, according to the city's flood
control office. Another died of an unspecified acute illness whilst
trapped on a bus.
148 mm of rain fell in Danjiangkou's Guanshan Town from Sunday
evening to Monday morning in the worst storms since 1975, damaging
more than 400 meters of highway, 1,500 meters of river dykes, and
destroying 2,230 residential buildings.
The flood control office estimated the direct economic losses to
exceed 85 million yuan (US$10.5 million).
More than 2,500 people have been evacuated and rescue efforts
are continuing in the affected areas.
The National Meteorological Center issued warnings yesterday of
torrential rain in many parts of north, northeast, central, east
and southwest China.
"Heavy rains and rainstorms will pound parts of Heilongjiang,
Liaoning and Jilin provinces in northeast China, and Hebei
Province, Beijing and Tianjin in north China," it warned.
Affected by Sanvu, this year's 10th typhoon, and the summer
monsoon, it was forecast reainstorms would sweep across Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region, the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Shandong,
Henan, Guizhou and Yunnan and Chongqing Municipality from
today.
Meteorologists urged authorities in mountainous areas to prepare
for mud-rock flows, landslides and other disasters.
At least ten people were killed with 35 still missing yesterday
after the floods and heavy rains in Liaoning on Friday and
Saturday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily August 16, 2005)