CHINA / National
Storms kill 349 people in June; more rain expected
(AP)
Updated: 2006-07-04 10:56
Flooding, landslides and other disasters triggered by torrential summer
rains killed at least 349 people in China in June, and more heavy rains
are expected in the next 10 days, a government news agency reported.
Some 99 people are still missing, while damage is estimated at 20 billion
yuan (US$2.5 billion), the Xinhua News Agency said late Monday, citing
the China Meteorological Administration.
All of the June flooding was in China's south, from typhoon-lashed Fujian
on the east coast through populous Guangdong and Sichuan provinces to
Yunnan in the southwest.
China suffers hundreds of rain deaths every summer. The impact of
flooding has been worsened by centuries of heavy farming and tree-cutting
that left denuded hillsides unable to trap rain. Major cities are
shielded by flood dikes but small towns, especially in mountainous areas,
are prey to deadly flash floods.
Flooding and landslides were blamed for 267 deaths, while another 82
people died in tornados, hailstorms and other disasters, Xinhua said.
China is expected to suffer from more typhoons than usual this year due
to an unusually warm current off its Pacific and high temperatures over
the Tibetan plateau, the report said.
In central and western China, new rains are forecast over the next 10
days, possibly ending a drought that is plaguing the area, the weather
agency reportedly said.
Rains in Hubei and Henan provinces, important farming areas, have been up
to 50 percent below normal, the report said.
Some 1.5 million hectares (3.7 million acres) of crops have been damaged,
with losses estimated at 1 billion yuan (US$125 million; euro100
million), Xinhua said.
"The rainfall will ease the drought and hot weather in the area," the
weather agency was quoted as saying.
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