Flooding Destroys Town of Caopo in SW China

Extreme floods destroy Caopo, leave entire population homeless

The town of Caopo in SW China’s Sichuan province has been completely destroyed by extreme flooding, which has also triggered large scale landslide, blocking the roads and leaving the town solated.

“Officials say Caopo’s five thousand residents have been given temporary shelters, after flooding destroyed their homes,” said a report.on July 16, 2013

An aerial photo taken from a helicopter shows a road to Caopo Township blocked by several major landslides and mudslide in Wenchuan County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Wu Yongbin). More images …

Landslide in Dujiangyan City kills at least 58, leaves 175 missing

At least 43 people were left dead after a landslide in the village of Sanxi, Dujiangyan City, in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. “Some 118 people across the city were missing or can not immediately be reached. Local authorities are continuing to verify the exact number of those missing,” said a report.

Hundreds Stranded in Sichuan Storms

Heavy rain triggered floods in Shimian county, Sichuan province, early on Saturday, stranding about 400 villagers.

In the wee hours of Saturday, the storm lashed six townships in Shimian, flooding six rivers.

“Roads as well as power and communication were cut off in the townships. More than 1,100 people including two foreign tourists were evacuated,” said deputy county magistrate Hu Jijun.

As floods inundated roads to Shimian’s Caoke township, some 400 residents in the township’s Keping village lost contact with the outside world in the morning.

Meantime, the water supply was cut off in many parts of Chengdu because the city’s drinking water source was polluted by the rising floodwaters, and vegetable prices soared as extreme rains destroyed crops and disrupted supplies.

Cost to the People and Sichuan Economy

The recent storm, which have been pounding Sichuan beginning since July 7, have affected about 2.5 million people, leaving tens of thousands homeless. Direct economic losses is so far estimated at more than 12 billion yuan ($2 billion) have been pounding, said the Sichuan provincial department of civil affairs.

Disaster Hits Also Shaanxi Province

Rainstorms continued to buffet much of northern China, killing scores of people and causing severe damage to property and infrastructure.

“In northwest Shaanxi province, rain has caused the death of 27 people, and affected over 800,000. The resulting economic losses add up to 1.8 billion yuan or around 300 million US dollars,” said a report.

“In the city of Yan’an, nearly one hundred historic sites have been damaged by landslides and other rain-related accidents. Many other sites have been closed.

“Northern Shanxi province has also been hard hit by downpours, seeing the most rain since 1961. Experts say soil moisture in some areas has reached critical levels, and could trigger more disasters.”

Extreme floods destroy bridge in NE China, killing 4

Original Caption: A road bridge that formed part of the No. 101 national expressway is seen collapsed in Fuxin, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, July 16, 2013. Heavy overnight rain toppled the bridge early Tuesday, leaving four people dead. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

Related Links

• Typhoon SOULIK Affects 2 Million in China  July 15, 2013
• Hundreds of Thousands Evacuated as SOULIK Hits China July 13, 2013
• Extreme Weather Wreaks Havoc in SW China July 10, 2013
• Disaster Diary – July 9, 2013 July 9, 2013