|
from RSOE HAVARIA
The worst rainstorms for more than 115 years killed at least 37 people and forced the evacuation of 113,000 people in mountainous areas of south-western China, the government and state media said on Wednesday. The storms brought torrential rain to neighbouring Chongqing and Sichuan regions from Monday night, with 266.6 millimetres of rain falling on parts of Chongqing in just 16 hours to Tuesday afternoon, state media said. The death toll in Chongqing had risen to 32 by Wednesday afternoon, said an official from the regional civil affairs bureau. The Ministry of Civil Affairs reported earlier that 113,100 people were evacuated because of flooding in Chongqing, where more than 10,000 homes were destroyed. The official said at least five more people died in Sichuan. About 42,000 lightning bolts hit Chongqing during the storms on Tuesday, with more torrential rain forecast for the rest of this week. The rainfall was the highest in Chongqing in a single day since records began in 1892, the agency said. The rain caused many landslides and mudslides, trapping thousands of vehicles, cutting dozens of power lines, and ruining 118,060 hectares of crops in Chongqing. Rainstorms and serious flooding have also affected wide areas of central, southern and eastern China in the last two weeks. Summer floods and landslides have killed about 500 people in China so far this summer, according to state media and civil affairs ministry reports. ----------------------------
sigh
the ice is melting
|