At least 26 people have died and 282 were still missing Tuesday as
a result of flooding in southern parts of
Shaanxi Province in Northwest China.
In
Shanning County, the flooding has claimed 24 lives since last
weekend, with another 174 people still missing.
More than 1,500 houses in the county had been destroyed by Tuesday
night, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The figure was expected to increase further as two-fifths of towns
in the county have been suffering from blocked transport and
telecommunications, said the report.
In
another development, Fuoping County - near Shaanxi's capital city
Xi'an - has reported two deaths and 108 missing. More than 1,400
houses had collapsed by Monday night, according to the local
anti-flood office.
More than 500 hectares of farmland were devastated by the torrents,
and local transport and electricity were blocked, the office said
Tuesday.
Rescue troops in Fuoping County were sending food and water over
the mountains to a spot where a number of tourists were
trapped.
Jia Zhibang, acting governor of the province, Tuesday arrived at
Fuoping County to oversee the rescue effort.
The provincial government has set up an emergency rescue office in
Xi'an to deal with the flooding around the province.
Meanwhile, sources with the province's transportation
administration said that most main roads in the south of the
province had been blocked due to landslides caused by flooding.
Local rescue workers were Tuesday working to pave the way for
further help by repairing State highways No 108 and No 210, which
pass through the province.
Railway workers in Xi'an were also busy ensuring that trains
bypassed the city to relieve the traffic pressure on the
Lanzhou-Lianyungang railway, which goes through the province,
according to the report.
The People's Liberation Army last month set up 19 emergency
military forces to fight flooding.
Army sources said that the forces were formed mainly from
bridge-construction and engineering units.
An
unnamed source at the army's General Staff Headquarters said: "They
are responsible for flood relief and saving people if disasters
happen in China's seven major rivers."
The special forces are being deployed along the Yangtze River,
Yellow River and other major rivers. They have been trained and
provided with professional equipment to fight floods, the source
said.
Their responsibility includes disaster inquiries, dam protection,
and helping save and assist flood-hit people and their
property.
In
1998 when floods hit and destroyed parts of China, about 300,000
PLA soldiers took part in disaster relief but some did not have the
proper professional skills and equipment.
The troops are currently training hard for flood relief, the source
said.
(China
Daily June 12, 2002)