When a swollen river flooded a colliery in central China's Hunan Province Saturday at least 14 people
were killed, bringing the country's death toll in tropical storm
Bilis to 170.
Among those dead were a miner, seven technicians working on
emergency rescue operations and six workers who were trapped in
collapsed houses and flooded pump rooms, said the emergency rescue
headquarters at the Shenjiawan Colliery of the Hongwei Mining Co in
Hengyang City of Hunan on Monday.
Rainstorms caused by tropical storm Bilis that arrived in China
Friday swelled the upper reaches of the Leishui River in Leiyang
City and destroyed the dams of a reservoir close to the colliery on
Saturday.
Hunan is the worst hit province by Bilis with 92 people already
confirmed dead and more than 100 missing. Floods and rainstorms
accompanying the tropical storm also claimed 33 lives in Guangdong Province, 43 in Fujian Province and two in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Fourteen of Fujian's 68 counties and cities have recorded
rainfall in excess of 200 millimeters including two where rainfall
was over 400 millimeters.
Three million people had been affected by the flooding, 19,100
houses destroyed and 519,000 people were evacuated by 6:00 PM on
Sunday.
Rainstorms and floods destroyed 144,680 hectares of crops and
forced 1,865 industrial and mining enterprises to suspend
production, resulting in estimated losses of 3 billion yuan (US$375
million).
The Fujian provincial government has appropriated 4.3 million
yuan (US$537,500) for relief aid and delivered 2,000 quilts, 6,000
boxes of instant noodles and 12,000 tents to victims.
In Guangdong Province where 33 people were killed by the storm
and landslides, 1.32 million people have been affected and 4,744
homes destroyed.
Part of China's main north-south railway line, the
Beijing-Guangzhou link in Guangdong was submerged and 10,000
workers have been sent to repair the damage.
Several trains have been cancelled and by 4:00 PM Sunday 25,000
tickets had been refunded. Railway authorities said Monday it would
take two or three days to repair the line.
Water levels in many parts of the province were at historical
highs. Local meteorological offices said heavy rains or rainstorms
would continue in Guangdong for the next few days.
Guangxi disaster officials confirmed Monday that two people died
when their houses collapsed in the flood. They said 1.135 million
people were affected by Bilis, which has also caused 300 million
yuan (US$37.5 million) worth of economic loss.
A total of 224 reservoirs in Guangxi were forced to discharge
floodwater as levels rose dangerously high. More than 30,000
stranded people had been evacuated by Monday.
The storm triggered heavy rainfall and serious floods in Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi since
July 14. This also caused the emergency relocation of 1.7 million
residents by 9:30 PM Sunday, according to the Ministry of Civil
Affairs.
There were no reports of casualties in Zhejiang and Jiangxi.
A joint working group representing the finance and civil
affairs ministries and several other departments are in the
disaster zones to aid and guide relief efforts.
Bilis claimed the lives of at least 14 people in the Luzon
region of the Philippines before arriving in China, according to
local disaster officials.
(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2006)