Freak storms pound China; more to come

• Source: Global Times
• [03:05 May 17 2010]
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Isolated island

In Xupu county, Hunan Province, more than 130,000 people in 26 towns were affected as of Sunday and four major bridges were damaged, with one person killed by a landslide triggered by heavy flooding.

Rescuers said they were doing their utmost to deliver aid to more than 8,000 people in Shanxi town, Xupu county, where the only bridge - Shanxi Bridge - linking the town to surrounding ar-eas, was damaged last week, leaving the town an isolated island.

The 128-meter-long bridge has served as the only route to the town for 20 years and endured heavy flooding in 1996 and 1998, local officials said.

A publicity official of Xupu county, who would only give his surname as Zhou, told the Global Times that rescuers had built a makeshift road linking Shanxi town, transporting food and daily necessities, such as rice, edible oil, cotton quilts and water to the region via a small chain bridge and the makeshift road, which does not allow transportation at night due to poor conditions.

"No one was killed in Shanxi town. Local residents, whose homes were not damaged in the flooding, are cleaning up debris, and those whose homes were damaged had moved to relatives' homes," he told the Global Times by phone.

"Two schools were flooded, but students will resume their classes soon."

He said the office of the flood and drought relief headquarters in Hunan had sounded a warning for further rainstorms in the coming days, and officials will visit flood-hit residents today.

The official website of the Hunan government said Sunday that as many as 118,500 people had been relocated to safety since May 12.

Hu Jisheng, a 64-year-old local resident, said this is the worst flooding he can remember in the last three decades.

"My home has been flooded four times in the past 30 years, but this was the harshest flood," he told the China News Service.

The latest rainstorms in Hunan, since May 12, have affected 3.1 million people, damaged 3,100 houses and incurred economic losses of 8.8 billion yuan. More than 5,000 soldiers have been deployed to help with relief efforts in the province.

Xinhua contributed to this story