Nearly 1.7 million displaced by floods in southern China

China, Jun 18, 2008

China's official Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday (June 18) that floods triggered by heavy rains have displaced a total of 1.66 million people in the country's hard-hit south. According to Xinhua, rains and floods left 63 people dead and 13 others missing across nine provinces in southern China since June 6.  The worst-hit areas are Guangdong, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hunan and Jiangxi. Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Guizhou, and Yunnan have also been affected. The rains have so far destroyed 67,000 houses, damaged 2.52 million acres (1.02 million hectares) of crops and caused US$2.1 billion (14.45 billion yuan) worth of damages. According to Bloomberg, Water Resources Vice Minister Hu Siyi traveled to Guangdong and Guangxi to oversee relief efforts, while the ministry also sent teams to check on the stability of dams in the area. Meanwhile, officials are finishing the evacuation of some 110,000 people in quake-hit Sichuan province from areas threatened by landslides due to continuing rains. The evacuation includes up to 70,000 people from Wenchuan county.  Up to 87,000 people have been reported killed or missing since the 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck Sichuan on May 12. According to Xinhua, while rains inundate the south, the northeast of China is experiencing an unusual heatwave.  Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang, reported an unusually high temperature of 99 degrees Fahrenheit (37.1 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday (June 17), the second highest recorded temperature for the city, according to Xinhua. The China Meteorological Administration reported Tuesday that rains are forecast for at least three more days in China's hard-hit southern region. The administration forecast torrential rains, thunder storms, strong winds or hail in parts of Guangxi, Zhejiang and Guangdong, according to Xinhua. Flooding is an annual problem in the country with millions of people living on reclaimed farmland in the floodplains of rivers. Some 4,150 people were killed in China's deadliest summer floods in 1998.