At least seven people were killed in mountain torrents caused by
a heavy rainstorm on Wednesday morning in China's westernmost Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region, local government sources said.
The death toll might rise as more reports are expected from
flood-stricken areas where communications were cut off, said an
official with the regional disaster relief office.
About 3,900 hectares of cropland were inundated and more than
14,300 houses destroyed.
Many parts of Xinjiang experienced moderate to severe rainstorms
between August?5 and 9.
The continuous rain might have been a relief to drought-stricken
areas, but it caused major flooding in others. Ruoqiang County, an
arid area in the Taklamakan Desert, recorded a precipitation of 53
mm in a single day, the highest since 1981.
The floods caused many rivers, like the Tarim and Ruoqiang
rivers,?to?swell above warning levels.
In Turpan, rain that lasted 26 hours from August 6 to 7
unleashed a mountain torrent, resulting in the worst flood in the
last 50 years.
The floods forced more than 230,000 people to flee their homes,
of whom about 63,200?have been relocated. Relief supplies have
been sent to the affected areas.
The local meteorological department warned that Xinjiang can
expect more heavy rains and storms from Thursday to Saturday.
In Sichuan
Province nine people were killed in floods. As of 6 PM
Wednesday, four were injured and one missing, local government
announced.
??
The flood-stricken areas include four counties in the cities of
Panzhihua and Ziyang in the western and southern parts of the
province, which were hit by rapid mountain torrents and mud-rock
flows with more than 23,000 people affected, according to the
provincial disaster relief office.?
(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn August 11, 2005)
