Society

Downpour continues to lash southern China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-19 20:50

HANGZHOU - Heavy rains and ensuing floods continue to plague southern parts of China, affecting millions of people and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland.

People?take?a boat through a flooded area in Changshan, East China's Zhejiang province, June 18, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]?

Latest data from the flood control headquarters of East Zhejiang province showed that by 7:00 am Sunday, 2.66 million people had been affected by continuous rainstorms in 545 townships of 50 counties under nine cities in Zhejiang. A total of 171,000 hectares of crops were destroyed and 989 enterprises were shut down, incurring 4.96 billion yuan ($751.5 million) in direct economic losses.

Persistent downpours caused a mudslide in Changshan county on Sunday at noon, which flushed several local homes at Longtan village of Tianma town, killing two and leaving one missing.

According to the provincial bureau of civil affairs of central Hubei, heavy rain from Friday to Saturday killed at least two in the province, with two more missing. A total of 3.01 million local residents in 31 counties were affected by the rain. Around 24,400 people have been evacuated and 261,200 hectares of crops were damaged. A total of 2,194 homes collapsed and 5,077 more were damaged. Approximately 730 million yuan in economic losses have been incurred.

Over the two days, downpours lashed Yichang, where the mammoth Three Gorges water control program is located, affecting 278,200 people and 21,500 hectares of crops.

Forty-four counties in East China's Jiangxi province also suffered heavy rains from Saturday to Sunday, with a precipitation of 179 mm in the city of Leping and 155 mm in the city of Dexing, according to the provincial flood control headquarters.

The rainstorms and flood stranded 23,759 people in Dexing Saturday night. By 10:00 am Sunday, 11,286 of them had been evacuated.