The rains that have deluged many parts of southern China the
past week are set to move north, the Central Meteorological Office
said yesterday, warning local residents to prepare for possible
floods and disasters.
From June 12-15, downpours will sweep through Guizhou and Jiangxi provinces, and other areas south of
the Yangtze River, the observatory said.
At the same time, the north of the country should prepare for
some rain and possible downpours, meteorologists said.
Precipitation reached 10-30 millimeters in parts of Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangdong provinces from June 11-12, the
observatory said.
The rainfall from May 1 to June 8 was the heaviest since 1973,
meteorologists said.
In Jiangxi, floods and disasters triggered by heavy rain have
killed seven people and forced 368,000 to leave their homes since
May 25, according to Li Baojun, an official in charge of disaster
relief from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
A disaster relief panel headed by officials of the ministry has
rushed to the province to provide help. A level-three anti-disaster
scheme has been launched with the allocation of 150 million yuan
(US$18.54 million) of relief funds by the provincial government, Li
said.
The latest death tolls in Guangdong Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have reached
24 and 15 respectively since June 1, Li disclosed.
"Disasters such as mountain floods and mud-flows caused by heavy
rain in some regions are inevitable at the present time," said Ding
Liuqian, vice director of the flood control and anti-disaster
institute under the Ministry of Water Resources.
As the rain belt moves further northward, it will bring danger
to those unprepared, he warned.
"Regions along the Yellow River are predicted to face severe
challenges due to possible heavy rainfall," he said.
An effective method to decrease losses of life is to enhance the
sense of precaution among local people, especially those living in
remote mountainous regions, he said.
"People could move to safety away from their houses before the
real danger comes," Ding suggested.
(China Daily June 13, 2006)