Beijing: China on Saturday stepped up efforts to
provide emergency services to 50,000 people trapped in flood
waters in a south Chinese province, even as military assault
boats were pressed into service for relief operations.
Rescuers have also been ferrying in bottled water,
instant noodles and rice for the last five days in Wenchang
City in south China`s Hainan Province, said a spokesman with
the municipal Civil Affairs Bureau.
Military assault boats are being used to ferry
emergency food and water supplies to 50,000 people trapped by
flood waters for five days in the city.
More than 20,000 people living in ground-floor
residences have been relocated, since the city`s Chizhi
Reservoir breached its dikes Friday morning, official Xinhua
news agency reported today.
Waters as deep as four meters had submerged many
parts of the city and cut water and power supplies.
In hard-hit Wencheng Township, the road link to the
outside has been cut. Vegetable prices in Hainan have jumped
by about 30 per cent as local crops have been destroyed and
cities like the provincial capital Haikou are relying
predominantly on vegetables shipped in from outside.
A total of 230,000 people had been displaced in
Hainan, better known as a tropical beach resort, as of
Saturday due to the torrential rain, which has affected more
than 1.64 million people, a fifth of the provincial
population, said a spokesman with the provincial disaster
control headquarters.
Heavy rains began pounding Hainan on September 30,
leaving at least one person dead and three people missing.
PTI
