Hundreds Die in Asia Floods, Millions Homeless

August 1, 2002

BEIJING, July 31, 2002 (ENS) - Unusually early floods across 25 Chinese provinces claimed 793 lives and left more than 20,000 of the nation's poorest people homeless. The Red Cross Society of China has activated emergency crews to move water, blankets and food to the affected areas.

Floods from northern China, the Himalayan region and south to India and Bangladesh have been caused by an unseasonably early, continuous, and heavy monsoon season.

Floods occur every year during the monsoon and typhoon season, but flash floods accompanied by landslides and hailstorms such as those sweeping the region in June and July, are unusual.

The China Ministry of Civil Affairs reports that the numbers of people affected and crops destroyed during the flash floods in June are higher than losses during the same period during the 1990s.

The floods have hit provinces throughout China, from the far northern mountainous areas, which are traditionally arid, to communities along the Yellow and Yangtze rivers, both of which are now cresting at record levels.

Last week, in anticipation of heavy rains, the Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji, an engineer by profession, inspected the flood prevention and early warning systems along the two rivers.

The early floods took their victims by surprise, causing enormous destruction in many remote villages inhabited by subsistence farmers. Rice paddies farmed for generations, as well as other crops, have been completely or partly destroyed. Many destitute farmers are expected to seek temporary jobs in cities to support their families. This is expected to increase the number of urban poor which now stands officially at 19.3 million people.

People across China have been warned by officials from the State Flood and Drought Relief control headquarters that more rainfall is forecast for early August.

Chinese officials expressed fears that another wave of deluges may engulf wider parts of the country as the rainy season develops. According to official sources, fighting floods and preventing further soil erosion has been set as a priority task for the Chinese government.

Chinese health authorities put provincial health branches on alert following a World Health Organization report earlier this month on the outbreak of cholera in neighboring Afghanistan. Extensive special protection and epidemic prevention measures are being implemented in flooded areas at high risk of epidemics such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery.

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