Death toll in rainstorms in southwest China's Guizhou Province has jumped to 52, with
another 20 people missing, the government source confirmed on
Friday.
Torrential rains lingering from May 1 to June 15 have hit 293
townships in 47 counties in Guizhou, according to the provincial
flood control and drought relief headquarters.
The headquarters said the casualty was mainly caused by flash
floods, which is also disastrous to crops.
The floods, landslides and storms in the rainy season have
caused interruptions in traffic, telecommunications and power
supply in some counties, with Wangmo and Luodian counties worst
hit, said flood control officials with the headquarters.
In the worst hit Wangmo County, floods have claimed at least 30
lives.
Wang Zhibin, secretary of Wangmo County Committee of Communist
Party of China (CPC), said 165,260 people were affected by the
floods. More than 2,400 houses collapsed and 1,500 hectares of
farmland were damaged.
The headquarters estimated that the flood disasters have induced
1.3 billion yuan (US$162 million) in accumulated economic losses in
Guizhou.
The provincial observatory said that the rainy season is
expected to continue to the mid July, causing more regional
flooding. However, the northern, eastern and southern parts of the
province are likely to suffer drought between the mid July and
August.
(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2006)