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| IFRC helps China's flood victims |
| CCTV.COM 2003-07-24 13:07:02 |
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The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched an appeal on Wednesday for 5.8 million US dollars to help China's flood victims. The IFRC hopes that the money will go to assist the nearly half a million people who have been displaced by large－scale floods in eastern, central and southern provinces of China.
The IFRC says floods have left some 3.5 million people homeless and affected more than 100 million in 16 provinces, where water levels in some areas have reached record heights. Anhui Province is facing its worst flood disaster for over a decade and many of its residents have either lost their homes or had their crop fields destroyed.
"When they go back to their homes, they'll probably see that their houses have gone or have collapsed, and the fields will yield nothing this summer so they badly need assistance. What the Red Cross can do is to help the most vulnerable of these families," said Thorir Gudmundsson from the Information Delegate for IFRC
The IFRC has released just under 225,000 US dollars from its emergency funds.
According to the relief agency, the worst of the flooding has been along the Huaihe river.
Water levels have receded in the past few days but remain above danger levels in several areas.
The disaster comes on top of a bad winter wheat harvest, leaving millions reliant on assistance even if they have managed to salvage some of their belongings from their homes and fields.
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Editor: Yang Feiyang CCTV.com
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