Heavy rainfall is forecast to continue in different parts of China
in the coming days and may add more damage with floods across the
country, which have claimed at least 148 lives this year.
The Central Meteorological Observatory forecast that heavy to
torrential rains will continue to pour down in the areas between
the Huaihe and Yellow River valleys, the Huaihe and Yangtze River
valleys, and the Sichuan Basin this week.
Provinces like Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hubei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu
and Anhui as well as Chongqing Municipality will see an average
rainfall of 100 to 150 millimeters.
Experts said earlier that two rain fronts will hit both the
northern and southern regions of the country between June and
August.
In
the north, rain will mainly fall on the Yellow River Valley and
areas north of it.
Since the Yellow River has not seen flooding for years and the same
goes for the Huaihe River, flood prevention authorities of both
rivers have issued circulars warning people in the area to be
prepared for possible flooding and other concerns.
So
far, China's eight provinces and regions have seen huge losses
caused by floods.
Up
to Monday, floods in various provinces and regions had negatively
affected 44.75 million people, according to a statement from the
Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The statement showed that floods have damaged about 2 million
hectares of farmland with crops, and have caused injuries and
health concerns for 12,876 residents in these areas.
The central government has allocated 6 million yuan (US$720,000), 7
million yuan (US$840,000) and 12 million yuan (US$1.4 million) to
Hubei, Jiangxi and Guangxi respectively for emergency relief.
Hubei Province in central China yesterday reported that 91 counties
and cities, 90.9 percent of its total, have suffered from
torrential rain and storms over the past week.
The latest reported flood-related fatalities were six primary
school students, who were drowned after their boat capsized on
Monday in a flooded river in Tengxian County in south China's
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
(China Daily July 2, 2003)