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

Typhoon UTOR Strikes S China; 158,000 Evacuated

UTOR made landfall in south China’s Guangdong Province after killing 6 in the Philippiens

UTOR, the 11th typhoon to strike China so far this year, struck western Guangdong with Wednesday afternoon with winds of more than 151 km/hr per hour.

Officials had already evacuated more than 158,000 people in southern China provinces of Guangdong and Hainan as a precautionary measure ahead of the typhoon’s arrival, according to local meteorological authorities.

A “Red Wave Warning” concerning the storm surges remained in effect on Wednesday, said the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center.

“Waves up to 5.5 meters high were monitored around the center of the typhoon early Wednesday. Waves up to 9 meters are expected to appear in the northern part of the South China Sea from Wednesday noon to evening,” said the report.

Related Links

• Typhoon UTOR Batters Northern Philippines August 12, 2013

Typhoon UTOR Batters Northern Philippines

Typhoon UTOR struck the coast of eastern Aurora province with sustained winds of about 180 km/hr (110 mph) and gusts of up to 210 km/hr, leaving at least one person dead and dozens missing.

UTOR devastated the coastal town of Casiguran, destroying houses knocking down overhead electricity and phone lines and uprooting poles and trees.

Torrential rains triggered landslides that blocked the only access road to the town, local reports said.

The typhoon crossed Luzon, Philippines’ main northern island, heading west towards South China Sea with sustained winds of about 145 km/hr.

UTOR, which means “squall line” in Marshallese, was the 12th of about 20 tropical cyclones forecast to hit the Philippines this year.

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• Destructive Typhoon Slamming Philippines August 11, 201