China: Floods kill 30 in southern provinces and 236 since the beginning of the year

18.07.12.

Rainstorms have ravaged central and southern China since last Wednesday, leaving 30 dead and four missing.

In the worst-hit southern province of Guizhou, 3,000 residents were evacuated due to flooding -- as the water rose to the roofs of their homes.

China Report has the latest.

According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Tuesday, the heavy rains had affected 7.4 MILLION people and forced over 400,000 to evacuate due to flooding and mudslides.

Unyielding rains across the country have battered 233 counties in some of the country's biggest provinces - Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou.

Monday, the downpours struck Guizhou again, causing flash floods in Tongren city - forcing 3,000 to relocate.

One of the worst-hit towns - Kaikou - was left completely isolated by the flooding, with 14 people stranded on their roofs.

Local government sent 500 rescuers to pull them out of water, saving the stranded 14... But the flood still killed another two and left one missing.

One rescued villager told CNC about the panic he felt as the water inundated the roof of his house.

SOUNDBITE (CHINESE): RESCUED VILLAGER
"My family were stuck in rising water. We were terrified. We had no idea the water could rise that high. At first, we escaped to the top floor of our house. But then we watched as the floods rose steadily towards us, leaving us with no where to run."

The disaster has damaged roads and caused power outages, hampering relief efforts.

The local government has sent food supplies to the affected areas of Guizhou and started to repair its power facilities.

Now, residents are beginning to return home and the floods have receded.

But the central government is now grappling with the aftermath. According to the Ministry, nearly 80,000 homes are ruined, while nearly 480 thousand hectares of crops have been lost. The cost? About 600 million U.S. dollars.

And the China Meteorological Administration says MORE heavy rains will hit the south over the next few days...

We'll have further updates as the story develops.

http://www.cncworld.tv/news/v_show/26094_Floods_kill_30_in_S_China....

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236 dead, 101 missing in China floods this year

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China's top flood control authority announced Wednesday that floods have left 236 people dead and 101 others missing since the start of the year.

As of July 18, 28 provincial-level regions out of a total of 31 in the Chinese mainland have been inundated by floods that affected 48.94 million people. Around 1.6 million people were evacuated, according to a report released by the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

The disasters also toppled 200,000 houses and damaged more than 4.63 million hectares of crops, according to the report.

Torrential rain since last Wednesday has affected more than 2 million people in several southern Chinese provinces including Hunan, Anhui, and Guizhou.

Violent rainstorms recently affected 1.1 million residents in 44 counties and left 11 dead and three missing as of Monday afternoon in Guizhou province, according to local authorities.

http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/english/chin...