Beijing: Heavy rains continued to cause
loss of life in China with 51 more people killed in landslides
and floods in the Gansu and Sichuan provinces, authorities
said on Tuesday.
The casualties in the northwestern Gansu province were
caused after torrential rains triggered floods yesterday in
the Longnan City, where 23 persons were also reported missing.
Gansu was already hit hard by the country`s worst
mudslide over a week ago in which 1,254 people were killed and
490 others were missing in Zhouqu County.
Floods in Longnan City that swept away at least 36
people are the latest in a series of rain-related natural
disasters to have hit China this year.
Elsewhere in the southwestern Sichuan province, at
least 15 people were killed in the region that was the
epicenter of the devastating 2008 earthquake.
The Wenchuan County in Sichuan was hit by mudslides on
Saturday and 38 people were reported missing.
Rescuers looking for the missing persons pulled out 15
bodies from the rubble at the County that was in 2008
devastated by the massive earthquake in Sichuan, state-run
Xinhua news agency reported.
Officials in Wenchuan said they had stopped digging
for bodies as their primary motive now was to prevent an
outbreak of an epidemic in the region.
The earthquake killed nearly 87,000 people and left a
trail of devastation.
Floods and other rain-triggered disasters have left
more than 2,300 people dead and 1,200 missing nationwide this
year.
Heavy rains have lashed several counties in Longnan
city since last week, triggering landslides, Xinhua said.
While more than 6,000 homes have collapsed, flooding
has also cut off electricity and damaged roads.
In Zhouqu, the scene of the devastating landslide,
rescue workers sifted through the debris using bulldozers and
cranes to look for the missing persons.
Meanwhile, China`s National Disaster Reduction
Commission issued an urgent circular yesterday, ordering civil
affairs authorities across the country to step up measures to
control floods and other rain-triggered disasters.
The circular came amid weather forecasts predicting
two more periods of heavy rainfall across the country, which
has suffered the worst floods in at least a decade this
summer.
"The civil affairs authorities must closely monitor
the development of torrential rains and guard against
flooding, geological disaster and other rain-triggered
disasters," it said.
Further, it ordered the evacuation and relocation of
residents in high risk areas prone to flooding, landslide, and
mudslide, and said that disaster relief materials and
temporary shelters must be in place well in advance.
It also asked civil affairs authorities to increase
publicity of disaster-related information and survival tips.
PTI
