Typhoon Kaemi has to date left at least?32 people dead, and
another?65 missing in floods and landslides.
East China's Jiangxi Province has been the hardest hit on
the mainland.
On Wednesday, a torrent of water rushed down a mountainside,
washing away a military barracks. Six people died and 38 are still
missing, according to local military sources yesterday morning.
Those missing include military officers, soldiers and their
families.
Kaemi has been lashing central and southern parts of Jiangxi
with rainstorms since Tuesday afternoon, triggering floods and
landslides.
Rescuers have evacuated more than 12,000 civilians in the worst
hit area, Shangyou County, where the maximum rainfall in just six
hours exceeded 280 millimeters. Relief funds have been sent
including 1 million yuan (US$125,000), 100,000 kilograms of rice
and 2,000 quilts.
Rainstorms and consequential disasters have affected more than
330,000 people in Jiangxi.
About 9,200 houses have been toppled and 6,400 hectares of
farmland destroyed. Direct economic losses are estimated at 150
million yuan (US$18.75 million).
Although Kaemi has weakened, heavy rain continued to pound south
China yesterday.
Meteorologists have warned of more flooding and mudflows.
The meteorological office said that Kaemi carried in less rain
than Bilis, but caused further damage to areas already devastated
by Bilis, which killed 612 people and left 208 missing in southern
China.
South China's Guangdong Province has also reported two
deaths, while local authorities are still counting the missing and
affected population.
Also on Wednesday, Kaemi triggered floods and landslides in
central China's Hunan Province leaving three people
missing.
Kaemi, the fifth major storm this year, made landfall in Taiwan
and east China's Fujian Province.
(China Daily July 28, 2006)
