Deadly Floods, Landslides Affect 3.7 Million People in S. China

Dozens dead or missing, 200,000 displaced in southern China floods three days

Floods, landslides and mudslides have left dozens of people dead or missing and at least 197,000 others displaced in southern China since Saturday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

According to the Ministry, by 9 a.m. Monday, about 3.7 million people in seven provinces, including Hubei and Sichuan, and Chongqing Municipality, had been affected by the disasters.

Extreme weather events has destroyed thousands of homes and 20,900 hectares of crops, with the direct economic losses estimated at about US$407.9 million, the officials said.

In northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at least 13,000 people were displaced after torrential rains battered region , the report said.

’14 dead in floods, hailstorms across 3 Chinese provinces’

“Floods and landslides have caused 13 deaths in southwest China’s Guizhou Province and central China’s Hunan Province while a hailstorm had killed one in northern Shanxi Province as of Thursday morning, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

“Guizhou has reported nine fatalities and nine missing with about 65,600 people evacuated, due to heavy rainfall and landslides this month, said the ministry in a statement.

“Hunan has confirmed that four people have died, six remain missing and 157,000 people have been evacuated, while Shanxi reported one death and one missing, the statement said.

Blizzards Destroy Homes, Decimate Crops in C. China

Snowstorm wreaks havoc across central China

Lingering winter storms have affected hundreds of thousands of people in central and southwest China provinces of Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou, destroying homes, blocking highways and decimating crops, Xinhua quoted the authorities as saying.

In Hubei Province alone the snowstorm and freezing rains have destroyed at least 188 houses and 28,000 hectares of crops since Tuesday, affecting 336,000 people, 495 of whom were forced to relocate, according to the Department of Civil Affairs of Hubei Province.

Winter storms have also affected Hunan Province, which neighbors Hubei, blocking several highways and cutting vegetable supplies to the cities, said the report.

Guizhou Province in southwest China has also issued warnings for icy roads, following days of freezing rain. “Its traffic and police authorities have initiated emergency responses to ensure traffic flows on highways.”

 

More Deaths and Destruction as Floods Hit China

Floods in China’s Yunnan province affect 1.6 million, killing dozens

Severe floods in southwest China’s Yunnan Province have affected 1.6 million people, killing at least 45, and displacing more than 26,500 others, said a report.

Original caption: Vehicles are stranded on a landslides-hit road in Yiliang County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Aug. 25, 2013. Rainstorms-triggered mountain floods, landslides and mud-rock flows hit the county in this weekend. (Xinhua/Peng Hong)

Rainstorms and floods wreak havoc in NE and S China

The latest round of flood crests on the Songhua River is expected to reach Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province [population: ~ 10 million] , on Tuesday, flood control experts said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, nearly 600 oil wells in Daqing, one of China’s major oilfields, which is about 150 kilometers from Harbin, have halted operation.

Persistent downpours since Aug 14 have caused the worst flooding since 1998 in the northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang [85 lives lost, 105 people missing,] which are the heartland of China’s grain production.

Heavy rain is likely to hit the provinces of Yunnan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Sichuan and Hubei and Shanghai, with the precipitation in southwestern Yunnan expected to reach 100 to 150 mm from Sunday to Monday, the National Meteorological Center forecast on Sunday.[Xinhua]

Worst Flooding in a Century

Original caption: Photo taken on Aug. 26, 2013 shows residential houses inundated in floods in Shengdeku Village of Fuyuan County, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. Heilongjiang has seen its worst flooding in a century with continuous rising water levels. About 300 households from the flooded Shengdeku Village and Heiyupao Village of Fuyuan County were evacuated before the floods swept their hometowns, inundating nearly 400,000 mu (about 26,667 hectares) of farmlands. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei). More images…

Typhoon Trami kills 2, affects 200,000 in China

Downpours brought by Typhoon Trami and monsoon have left two people dead and nearly 200,000 affected in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local authorities said Monday.

Rainstorms also toppled 668 rooms of 348 households and seriously damaged another 855 rooms of 451 households in Guangxi.

Typhoon Trami was the 12th typhoon to hit China this year. Rainstorms brought by the typhoon have also swept Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, affecting 1.4 million people and forcing the relocation of 351,000, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Friday.  [Xinhua]

Original caption: A villager checks his house damaged by flood at Zhoujia Village of Fuchuan Yao Autonomous County, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Aug. 22, 2013. Trami, which was downgraded to tropical storm status, would likely bring persistent rain and cause floods in Guangxi. The region had been drenched by Typhoon Utor last week. (Xinhua/Lu Bo’an)

Hospital hit by landslide in SW China

Original caption: Geologists check the landslide site in Yiliang County, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Aug. 26, 2013. A rain-triggered landslide occurred on Monday morning at a hill behind the People’s Hospital in Yilang, which damaged part of the hospital. Patients and residents in the surrounding area were evacuated and no casualties were reported. (Xinhua/Peng Hong). More images …

Flooding Links

• Major rivers rise, 6,000 dykes breached
• Historic flooding in claims 125 lives, affects 3.7 million

Drought Drying Up Thousands of Rivers and Reservoirs in China

Millions Short of Drinking Water in S, SW and Central China

Disastrous drought continues to plague parts of Guizhou, Hunan and Hubei provinces, affecting at least 12 million people.  More than 3 million people and 2 million livestock have been affected by severe shortages of drinking water, and the drought is expected to continue, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said. As of July 26, about 2.5 million hectares of farmland have also been affected.

• “Since the start of July, the amount of precipitation in those areas has been down dramatically from that recorded during the same period of last year, the headquarters said.”

• “In the coming days, droughts are likely to continue in those regions as high temperatures and little precipitation persist, according to the country’s weather forecasters.”

Guizhou Province: Persistent and widespread droughts in southwest China’s Guizhou Province have affected up to 10 million people in more than 200 counties since mid-June. More than 1 million people lack adequate supplies of drinking water, and about 600,000 hectares of crops is being lost or damaged by the drought, said the provincial government.

Hunan Province:  Severe drought has spread in central China’s Hunan Province leaving more 1.15 million people short of drinking water.

“Over 100 counties in 14 cities and prefectures in the province have been affected by the drought. About 6 million mu (400,000 hectares) of crops have also been affected and 311,000 heads of livestock lack adequate amounts of drinking water, according to the headquarters,” said a report.

“The extreme weather has also caused 186 rivers and 252 reservoirs to dry up.

“The province has sent 2.5 million people and 13,000 water tankers to irrigate croplands and provide water for 365,000 people, the headquarters said.”

YOU Could Be Next!

Original Caption:  Resident Lyu Youde walks on the dried-up pond bed at Jingtang Village of Wufengpu Town in Shaoyang County, central China’s Hunan Province, July 24, 2013. A drought that has lasted since early July has left 533,000 people short of drinking water in the province. 107 counties of 14 cities and prefectures in the province have been affected by the drought, with about 6027,000 hectares of crops damaged and 311,000 heads of livestock short of water. Also in the province, 186 rivers and 252 reservoirs are dry. (Xinhua/Li Ga). More images…

Related Links

• Drought Disaster 2013
• “Super heat wave hits many parts of China”
• China to Become Top Wheat Importer after Major Crop Disaster July 17, 2013

 

Extreme Weather Wreaks Havoc in SW China

Extreme Rain Events affect more than 10 million, destroy tens of thousands of homes in 300 counties

Extreme Rain Events have affected more than 508,000 people in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, destroying at least 300 homes and raising water levels on major rivers dangerously high, said Xinhua.

“Rainstorm-triggered natural disasters have wreaked havoc in 21 provincial-level regions in China since July 3, leaving at least 33 dead and another 14 missing, the National Commission for Disaster Reduction said Monday.”

In central China’s Hubei Province, Extreme Rain Events have left a dozen people dead, about 2 million affected, 114,000 people in 29 counties relocated, tens of thousands of homes destroyed or damaged and about 200,000 hectares of crops ruined.

In Yunnan Province, rainstorms have affected about 30,000 people and destroyed at least 5,300 houses.  Schools in the area have been abandoned.

• Since July 3, natural disasters triggered by extreme weather have killed or left missing scores of people, affected more than 10 million, displacing hundreds of thousands of others in as many as 300 counties across 21 provinces.

Original caption: A road is destroyed by rainstorm-triggered landslide in Wenchuan County, southwest China’s Sichuan Province, July 10, 2013. Rainstorms battered the county in these two days. (Xinhua/Lu Guotong). More images …

Related Links

• 3 dead, 1.9 million affected in C China rainstorm

• Vehicles, pedestrians fall into river after bridge collapsed in SW China 
• Landslide hits SW China, 30-40 buried

• Rainstorms trigger landslide, flood in Wenchuan, SW China
• Communication, power, roads all cut after rainfall in Beichuan county
• Thousands of people trapped in Sichuan tunnel
• Strong rainstorms hit SW China
• Severe rainstorms batter quake-hit SW China

• Vehicles, pedestrians fall into river after bridge collapsed in SW China
• Severe rainstorms batter quake-hit areas in SW China

• 33 dead, 14 missing in rainstorm-triggered natural disasters

Million Homes Destroyed or Damaged in China Rainstorms

Rainstorms spawn flooding, landslides and avalanches wreaking havoc  affecting millions in China

Flooding, landslides, avalanches and torrents of mud triggered by extreme rain events in multiple regions of China have left dozens dead, scores of others injured, affecting millions of residents, with at least a million people displaced.

Original Caption: Rescuers convoy residents trapped by a rainstorm-triggered flood in the Huangpi District of Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei Province, July 13, 2012. Many parts of the Huangpi District, a suburb of Wuhan, were inundated by flood following torrential rainstorms that have struck here for days. (Xinhua/Hao Tongqian)

The worst affected areas are

• Guizhou province in the southwest (more than a million affected)
• Hubei (more than 2 million affected) and Hunan provinces in central China
• East China’s Anhui province

The Central Meteorological Station has forecast heavy rains for large swaths of Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces as well as Shanghai Municipality for Saturday through late Monday, the official Xinhua news agency reported. 

• See also: Epic flooding and massive landslides …  posted July 12, 2012

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Drought Parches Millions of Hectares of Farmland in China

Millions of Chinese short of drinking water as drought destroys
large swathes of cropland

Severe drought in China has left about 9 million people and tens of millions of farm animals short of drinking water, parching about 4 million hectares of farmland in Gansu, Hubei, Shanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, drought-relief officials said.

SW China’s Yunnan province, which borders Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, is said to be the worst hit area.

Earlier this months, the authorities declared 8 additional provinces as drought-stricken areas.

In 2011, parts of China experienced their worst drought in living memory, with rainfall averaging 50 percent of the  normal, destroying crops and cutting hydroelectric power from dams, officials said.

China is home to 20 percent of the world population, but has only about 5 percent of the world’s fresh water resources.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

China’s Drought Turning Critical

Drought: Turning up the heat in E China

No rain for East China anytime soon: Forecasters

Drought is wreaking havoc across Central, South and East China. Many of the vast regions lakes, stricken by the worst drought in living memory, have dried up affecting tens of millions of people and millions of their livestock. There’s no prospect for early rain, forecasters say.

The drought that has affected 35 million people across 5 provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, according to the country’s Meteorological officials.

“Among them, about 4.23 million are experiencing difficulties in finding drinking water and 5.06 million are in need of assistance,” said a report.

China Drought Monitor – Worsening Drought Conditions (January 10, 2011)

Source: Division of Climate Impact Assessment/NCC/CMA

“Since early January, precipitation in Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan provinces has been about 40 percent to 60 percent less than the same period last year, causing a 60-day drought, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.”

“China’s two largest fresh water lakes – Dongting Lake in Hunan and Poyang Lake in Jiangxi – are both drying up dramatically and, by Friday, 34.83 million people had been affected in the five provinces, the ministry said, citing reports from local civil affairs departments.” The report added.

The drought has affected about 4 million hectares (10 million acres) of crops, pushing up the vegetable prices by  “19 percent from May 23 to May 27,” according to the Baishazhou Market in Wuhan, capital of drought-hit Hubei in Central China.” The report added. 

Once A Lake!

Dried lake near Shijiao town of Qingyuan City, south China’s Guangdong Province.  (Xinhua/Li Zuomiao). Image may be subject to copyright.

The central government has ordered the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River to discharge more water to help irrigate some of the drought stricken croplands downstream; however, the  dam will run out of water if there is no rainfall before June 10, the Three Gorges Corporation has told China Daily.

Related News

• Provinces in southern China brace for drought
• No rain expected to ease China’s Yangtze drought  
• Drought hitting Chaohu Lake in E China
• China’s “land of fish and rice” parched by drought