China on emergency alert

2005-06-25 12:16

Beijing - China's president has ordered government bureaus to step up emergency flood control and relief efforts after torrential rains left 732 people dead or missing ahead of the traditional rainy season.

President Hu Jintao gave the order after the Civil Affairs Ministry announced 567 people had died and 165 were missing in flooding this year with economic losses estimated at 22.9 billion yuan ($2.76bn).

"Faced with a serious fight against floods ... we must quickly step up efforts at organising construction and inspections of major dykes, reservoirs and reserve flood areas," Hu told a meeting on flood prevention and control, according to Saturday's People's Daily newspaper.

"We must guarantee the safety of all major transport routes and mid-size and big cities.

"The life of the people must be the number one priority, people in endangered areas must be immediately evacuated and their living arrangements must be appropriately met."

Although relentless rains in southern parts of the country were expected to ease, water levels on the Pearl river remained at record highs as they surged toward the regional capital of Guangzhou, officials said.

Huang Huahua, governor of the booming industrial Guangdong province, urged the government to fast-track relief efforts throughout the province, including the provincial capital, which was experiencing the worst rains in 90 years.

"July and August is the main flooding season in China, all major rivers and waterways may experience big floods at any time," Chen Jianlong, spokesperson of the state anti-flood headquarters said in a daily briefing.

"The damages caused by flooding along the Pearl River and the Min River are still serious.

"The number of collapsed homes is very big and damage to farm lands, water resources, roads, railways and other infrastructure is very serious."

More than 44 million people have been affected by flooding in China this year, leading to the emergency evacuation of some 2.45 million, the civil affairs ministry said.

On Friday, the Ministry of Health issued a circular to step up monitoring and prevention against a potential cholera outbreak.

A rain belt that has hovered over most of the Guangxi region to the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang since June 16 has sparked widespread havoc although rains were expected to decrease this weekend.

The government late on Friday announced a flood alert along the nation's railways as landslides and floods were blocking major lines in the southern provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong.

In the Longmen region of Guangdong, one of the worst hit areas, up to 760mm of rain fell in a 69-hour period, while other areas experienced up to 400mm through last week, the ministry said.

So far in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian 111 were confirmed dead and 68 missing through Thursday, with the three provinces accounting for 60% of the economic losses caused by flooding.

- AFP