Monday 27 June 2011

China Experiences Severe Floods in June 2011

Jiangxi Province
China is unfortunate to be experiencing a series of severe floods in central and southern China. These floods have been caused by very heavy rainfalls and are affecting 36.5 million people across 13 provinces. According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs so far 1.64 million people have been displaced, more than 700 people have died as a result of the flooding and 347 people are missing.

Flooded street, Wuhan, Hubei Province
Landslides and mudslides have toppled homes, blocked roads and crushed parts of railway lines..Dikes breached and flooded many villages.More than 230 rivers in the country had seen water levels rise beyond warning points, with two dozen exceeding historic highs. The floods have inundated parts of the 13 provinces of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunan have been affected.

Mr Liu Ning, head of the country's flood control authority and vice-minister of water resources, hopes that this years fllods will not be as bad as those that occurred in the historic 1998 flooding on the Yangtze River. He said the annual rainy season would continue at least through August, and that more downpours were expected, further straining reservoirs and other water control projects, especially as the East Asian typhoon season has just begun."During this period there will be heavy rainfall and serious floods. The rainfall will continue," Mr Liu Ning said. .
Firefighters rescue people trapped by flood water at the Fuxing Wood Industry building  in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province

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