Death toll in China’s Hebei floods rises to 29 as heavy rainfall triggers disasters
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Streets in parts of Hebei, which borders the capital, were still caked in mud on Wednesday.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Beijing - The death toll from floods in northern China’s Hebei province has risen to 29, state media reported Friday, after record-breaking rains pummelled the region in recent weeks.
“As of August 10, 29 people have died due to disasters in Hebei Province, of which six were previously missing. There are still 16 missing,” state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing authorities.
At least 33 people died in Beijing as a result of a severe rainstorm and floods that struck at the end of last month, including two rescue workers, authorities said earlier this week.
And over a dozen people were killed in north-eastern Jilin province after torrential rain last week.
Streets in parts of Hebei, which borders the capital, were still caked in mud on Wednesday.
Local residents were scrambling to recover waterlogged belongings and clean up damaged homes.
Hebei may spend two years carrying out post-flood reconstruction, state media China News Service reported on Friday.
Hebei experienced the worst floods in living memory earlier in August after Typhoon Doksuri battered northern China, causing at least 29 deaths and 95.8 billion yuan (S$18 billion) in direct economic losses in the province alone.
Almost 5 per cent of Hebei’s 74.2 million residents were affected by the floods, with over 40,000 homes destroyed a further 155,500 houses seriously damaged, officials said.
About 2 million residents have been displaced by the disaster.
The province will make sure affected residents can move back to their homes or have new homes before this winter, China News Service reported, citing a briefing by officials.
This year’s floods were the most extensive in Hebei since 1963, with 51.5 per cent of its landmass receiving over 100mm of rainfall, provincial officials said.
Some residents in the city of Zhuozhou, one of Hebei’s worst-affected areas, have criticised the local government for not providing them with more help after excess floodwaters from provincial reservoirs were diverted to so-called flood storage areas in the region. AFP, REUTERS
