Flood death toll rises to 910: Red Cross
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-08-12 14:53

Floods and related disasters have killed 910 people in China so far this year with another 218 missing, the International Red Cross said Friday as it launched an emergency appeal for 4.4 million dollars in aid, AFP reported.

Most of the deaths have occurred since May, when the flood season kicked in.

"Since the end of May, floods, typhoons and other disasters have hit 27 of China's 31 mainland provinces," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement.

"Some 910 people are reported dead, 218 are unaccounted for and almost three million have been evacuated."

All told, the federation cited Chinese authorities saying over 134 million people have been affected and the flood season is far from over.

The information was provided by China's Red Cross, which obtained it from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said Alistair Henley, head of the federation's East Asia delegation, based in Beijing.

The figures, which include people killed in landslides and heavy rain, go up to August 10 and have yet to be made public by the ministry.

The government had earlier reported 764 people dead with another 191 missing from the floods and related disasters as of early July.

"It's not the worst since the 1998 floods, but one of the worst," Henley told AFP, referring to the most deadly floods in recent years, which killed more than 4,000 people.

"In some places, such as Guangxi province, it's definitely the worst in recent years."

The Red Cross' appeal will focus on helping five provinces that are worst affected and which are some of the poorest in China -- Anhui, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi and Sichuan.

The Red Cross aims to provide food and other assistance to some 400,000 of the neediest people in these areas.

"Food is the top priority," the Red Cross said. "Several million hectares of land have been flooded. There has been widespread loss of crops and a large percentage of the people affected are subsistence farmers."

The federation described the flood season as "choking the life out of rural China."

Aside from dealing with the immediate devastation, farmers also have to cope with deepening hardships from year after year of floods.

"Many villages never recover. Communities are dying from a cumulative exhaustion of resources, and millions of people still suffer from the effects of previous floods," the Red Cross said.

This year has also been noted for multiple disasters, including earthquakes, snow storms, tornadoes, flash floods and drought.

So far this summer, the Chinese Red Cross has provided relief in 19 provinces struck by heavy rains and floods.

The international federation's appeal will assist the Chinese Red Cross to restock relief warehouses so it may respond to future disasters.

Floods have always been part of life in China, officials said this year had been more devastating than usual.

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