Floods, drought still affect provinces
( 2003-07-23 07:05) (China Daily)
The water level in the main part of the Huaihe River in East China yesterday
surged for the third time during this flood season.
Many flood control stations along the river in Anhui Province saw water
levels surge more than 1 metre above the safe level yesterday, according to the
State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.Heavy to torrential rain
will batter most parts of eastern Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, the country's
most severely flood-stricken areas, meteorologists with the China Central
Meteorological Station forecast yesterday.However, in Central China's Hunan
Province, more than 3 million people have joined together to fight a drought
that has been affecting eight cities since mid-July.
According to the Hunan Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief
Headquarters, the temperature has been high in central and southern Hunan since
the end of June. A decline in rainfall, a high evaporation rate and increasing
water consumption have aggravated the drought in these areas.By last Sunday, the
drought had affected 811 townships in 59 counties under the administration of
the cities of Chenzhou, Hengyang, Loudi, Shaoyang, Xiangtan, Yongzhou, Zhuzhou
and the provincial capital Changsha.The drought has damaged crops on 576,000
hectares of farmland in these areas.
Typhoon Koni, which landed in South China's Hainan Province on Monday night,
has receded. All maritime transportation and flights have returned to normal.
Another tropical storm, Typhoon Imbudo, is moving from southern sea areas
towards South China's Guangdong Province. It is expected to bring torrential
rain in the coming days.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
yesterday launched an appeal for US$5.77 million to help people made homeless by
the floods, according to France Hurtubise, the organization's spokeswoman for
East Asia.The Chinese Red Cross is already providing relief assistance in the
flooded areas, complementing action taken by the authorities. The international
appeal aims to enable the Chinese Red Cross to distribute 110,000 packages --
each containing 100 kilograms of rice, a quilt and a mosquito net -- to the most
affected families.
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