China ‘faces worst floods’ in 12 years

BEIJING: China could be facing the worst floods in more than a decade if rains continue to drench the Yangtze river region, an official was quoted on Thursday as saying, as a typhoon nears the southern coast.

Wang Jingquan, head of the flood control office at the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission, said the situation along the nation’s longest waterway was at a “critical point,” according to the official China Daily newspaper.

“If heavy rain hits the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, coupled with the continuous rainfall in the middle and lower reaches, severe flooding similar to that in 1998 will occur,” Wang was quoted as saying.“There will be no room for optimism as the incoming Typhoon Conson will add to the grave situation in flood control.”

China experienced huge floods in 1998 in parts of the Yangtze River basin, which acts as an unofficial dividing line between the north and south of the country.

The disaster killed 4,150 people and forced over 18 million more out of their homes, causing economic losses of 255 billion yuan (38 billion dollars), according to the report.

Wang warned that water levels in parts of the Yangtze monitored by the commission had exceeded the average level for mid-July, it added.

According to the civil affairs ministry, 118 people have died in floods that have hit the southern half of China since the beginning of July, and another 47 are still missing. The downpours have also triggered deadly landslides that have swept entire villages away.

A series of such disasters hit parts of southwestern and central China earlier this week, killing at least 41 people, but it was unclear whether the victims were included in the ministry’s overall death toll.

In the eastern province of Jiangxi, flash floods forced the evacuations of more than 30,000 people and water from three reservoirs spilled over into neighbouring areas, the report said.

China’s national meteorological centre warned that Typhoon Conson, which killed 23 people and left dozens missing in the Philippines, was due to hit the nation’s southern shores on Thursday.

Around 25,000 fishing boats have returned to port in the southern island of Hainan ahead of the typhoon, which is expected to bring winds that will trigger eight-metre (26-feet) waves, the official Xinhua news agency said.

President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao both urged local authorities to “do their utmost to minimise flood-related losses,” Xinhua said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2010.