South China prepares for flash floods

• Source: Global Times
• [04:25 May 18 2010]
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By Lin Meilian

A bridge dating back over 230 years was destroyed by a torrential flood in Zhuxi village, Xupu county, Hunan Province. Many homes and roads along the Zhuxi River were also damaged by the freak stormy weather which began on May 12.

More rain is expected to pound South China this week and create hazardous conditions for residents in several provinces, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), which issued a flash flood watch for this afternoon.

The CMA issued the blue-level warning Monday morning saying tremendous rain is expected in at least 10 provinces including Hunan, Anhui, Hubei, Shandong and Zhejiang. The warning means at least 50 millimeters of rain is expected within 12 hours.

Those areas were told to get into disaster mode and be prepared to deal with floods, landslides and long periods of rain.

Since May 12, heavy rainfall has disrupted the lives of 3.7 million people, damaged 12,700 homes and resulted in an estimated 1.66 billion yuan ($240 million) in economic losses, the Xinhua News Agency reported Monday, citing the provincial flood-control and drought relief headquarters.

The ongoing rainstorms have caused many small and medium-sized water reservoirs to swell and many are on the verge of overflowing, meteorologists said.

The temperature in Hunan will climb to 29 C and meteorologists said the rain would not ease until Sunday.

About 140,000 people in the province have been relocated since Wednesday, including students whose schools were flooded, the local Sanxiang City Express reported.

About 180 students and teachers were evacuated Thursday morning when landslides caused by rainstorms hit their teaching building.

No causalities were reported, it said, citing an official from the local education authority.

One person was killed in a landslide during the second heavy rainfall that began on May 12, Xinhua said.