China steps up preventative measures as torrential rain hits S. China

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Source: CCTV.com | 06-12-2007 11:21

The increasingly rising flood inundates cropland in Liuhuang Township, Shunchang County of southeast China's Guangdong Province, June 11, 2007. (Xinhua Photo/Zhou Wenjie)

Several days of torrential rain in southern China have left 66 people dead and 12 missing. Rescue efforts are in full swing. More rain is forecast this week, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs is directing local and provincial governments to tighten preventive measures.

For more than a week, heavy rain has soaked Guangdong, Guizhou, Hunan, and Fujian provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Floods are threatening lives and property.

14 people are dead in Guangdong, and the weather has affected more than a million others. Train service in the cities of Guangzhou, Meizhou and Shantou has been cancelled after rail lines were washed out.

Close to two million people are affected in neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. 13 are dead and more than 100-thousand have been evacuated. The Lijiang and Xijiang Rivers are threatening to overflow their banks.

Rising water levels in lakes and rivers in central China's Hunan Province are also a problem. 1.3 million people are affected and 10,000 have been evacuated.

Continuous torrential rains have drenched Guizhou and Fujian provinces and Chongqing Municipality, affecting hundreds of thousands.

Weather forecasters warn the heavy rains will resume by Tuesday.

Sun Jun, senior engineer central meteorological agency, said, "As a result of the strong convection of cold and heat air, another round of heavy rainfall will hit southern provinces from 12th to 14th. It will worsen the situations in those areas."

The Ministry of Civil Affairs has put emergency rescue measures in place. Rescue and relief teams are being deployed.