Rare Winter Foods Ravage Central and Southern China

Local officials reported on Monday that rare winter floods have hit Hunan Province since November 11, affecting 253,000 people. The Hunan Provincial Commission for Disaster Reduction said incessant rainstorms that started on Wednesday have created flood crests in the upper and middle reaches of the Xiangjiang River, causing the worst winter floods in the region since 1961.

As of Sunday, a total of 173 houses collapsed, 262 others were severely damaged and 10,900 residents were relocated in 15 counties and districts. The floods also caused damage to about 19,200 hectares of farmland in the province, inflicting direct economic losses amounting to 401 million yuan.

The government of Yongzhou City, the hardest-hit area, has allotted relief funds of 660,000 yuan and distributed relief supplies to the affected people.

Torrential rain also pounded parts of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with the city of Hezhou seeing the most severe winter rainstorms in decades. According to the city's flood control and drought relief headquarters, the water levels of six rivers have already topped warning levels. So far, the winter storms have resulted in economic losses amounting to 71.6 million yuan in Hezhou. A total of 83,450 people from 33 townships in the metropolis had been affected as of Monday morning.

In Jiangxi Province, the winter storms have caused the water level of Poyang Lake to rise 1.6 meters over the past two weeks. Poyang Lake is China's biggest freshwater lake, and it usually enters its winter dry season at this particular time of year. 
 [ubalert.com]
16/11/15
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