S. China prepares for new storms
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Authorities in several south China provinces issued flood alerts on Monday after a new round of storms is expected to pound the region that still reels from recent floodings.
The national weather forecast says much of southern China, including provinces such as Guangdong, Guizhou, Jiangxi and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are to experience storms in coming days.
Many of the areas were drenched in last month's wide-scale heavy rains.
In the worst-hit Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the government on Monday said death toll from recent landslides and flooding has climbed to 53.
Forty-two counties in nine Guangxi cities were affected. In Chengxiang village, people were forced to row make-shift boats -- made of plastic bottles and planks -- to commute through the flooded streets.
Chen Jian, the region's chief weather forecaster, said heavy rains are expected to fall on six Guangxi cities from June 7 to 10.
Local disaster relief officials were ordered to evacuate residents in low-lying areas in advance. Safety measures at reservoirs shall also be reviewed, officials said.
In Jiangxi Province, where mudslides recently derailed a train and flooding forced the evacuation of 90,000 residents, government departments and agencies were ordered to ramp up flood prevention measures.
Schools, coal mines, markets and other populated areas will be carefully monitored to prevent accidents that could lead to massive casualties, according to officials.
The alert noted that water levels in Jiangxi's reservoirs and waterways remain high, posing serious threats to the government's flood prevention work.
Alarms also rang in central Hubei Province. The provincial meteorological bureau forecast heavy storms to hit Hubei from June 7 to 8 and might trigger flooding in its southern mountainous areas.
By June 3, floods have killed 125 people and left 34 people missing all over China, the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said.
More than 23.09 million people and 1.55 million hectares of crops were affected. Direct economic losses amounted to 16.9 billion yuan (2.47 billion U.S. dollars), it said.
