Ten?more people were confirmed dead today from rainstorms
and flooding triggered by tropical storm Bilis in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, bringing the
total death toll in China to 198.
Guangxi's death toll rose to 19 from nine on Monday, and eight
people are still missing, according to local officials on
Tuesday.
Some?4.495 million people have been affected and economic
losses are an estimated 890 million yuan (US$111.25 million), the
officials said.
A total of 557 reservoirs in Guangxi were forced to discharge
floodwater as torrential rains continued.
Meanwhile in Hunan Province, the worst hit province, 92
people have been confirmed dead and more than 100 are missing.
Bilis lashed China Friday. It?has also claimed 43 lives in
Fujian and 44 in Guangdong.
Traffic on the flood-ravaged trunk railway linking Beijing and
Guangzhou was resumed by midday on Tuesday after the efforts of
more than 5,000 workers over the last three days, the Guangzhou
Railway Group said.
By 5:30 AM railway workers had repaired most of the damaged
sections along the railway and Tuesday morning's trial run of a
locomotive from Lechang to Shaoguan, two of most damaged points on
the railway, proved successful.
Floods and rainstorms had disrupted part of the north-to-south
artery and thousands of passengers were stranded along the
route.
Bilis has triggered heavy rainfall and serious floods in Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi since
July 14. More than 1.7 million residents had been evacuated by 9:30
PM Sunday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs on
Monday.
There were no reports of casualties in Zhejiang and Jiangxi.
Vice Premier Hui Liangyu urged authorities and governments
in disaster-hit areas to take effective relief measures.
The Ministry of Finance has approved 65 million yuan (US$8.125
million) to fund disaster relief efforts in Hunan, Guangdong,
Fujian and Jiangxi provinces.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs has successively activated grades
3 and 4 of the emergency response mechanism and has begun providing
relief to the disaster areas.
In line with the operation requirements of the mechanism, two
vice ministers of civil affairs, Li Liguo and Dou Yupei, are
leading joint work groups representing the Ministry of Civil
Affairs, Ministry of Finance and several other departments to Hunan
and Fujian respectively to aid and guide relief efforts.
Bilis claimed at least 14 lives in Luzon in the Philippines
before landing in China, according to Filipino disaster
officials.
(Xinhua News Agency July 18, 2006)
