50 dead, 15 missing in typhoon-induced heavy rainfall in China
Beijing: Fifty people had been confirmed dead and 15 others remained missing after typhoon-induced heavy rains lashed Zixing City, central China’s Hunan Province, according to local authorities.
Since late July, rainstorms unleashed by Typhoon Gaemi have severely impacted the county-level city of Zixing, which is administered by Chenzhou City, triggering flash floods and landslides, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to the Chenzhou headquarters for supporting Zixing’s emergency rescue, restoration, and reconstruction work, 128,000 people were affected and 11,869 houses and buildings collapsed.
There were electricity, road, and communications interruptions in 149, 152, and 78 villages respectively.
All administrative villages in the disaster-stricken areas of Zixing have initially regained access to roads, electricity, communications, and water. Rescue efforts and post-disaster reconstruction are underway.
Earlier on August 2, communication and power supplies had largely resumed in central China’s Zixing, where typhoon-induced heavy rains had left 30 people dead and 35 missing.
Following rainstorms unleashed by Typhoon Gaemi, power supplies were knocked out in 149 villages and communication was cut in 78 villages in Zixing, a county-level city in Hunan Province, said Kan Baoyong, the mayor of Chenzhou City that administers Zixing, at a press conference.
The intense rain, with maximum precipitation exceeding 673 mm, had wrought “enormous damages” in Zixing, toppling 1,641 houses and causing 1,345 road collapses, according to the official.
A total of 118,000 residents had been affected, including 13,033 who were evacuated, while about 13,800 hectares of crops were damaged, including 5,000 hectares that were destroyed, Kan said, adding that the assessment had not been completed.
Rescue efforts had faced significant challenges due to the mountainous terrain and dense forests, which had made it difficult for rescuers to access the hardest-hit areas, according to officials.
Rescue personnel had to reach certain areas on foot, and some locations relied on air-dropped supplies, said Cao Zhongsheng, deputy director of Chenzhou’s emergency management bureau.
China’s National Disaster Reduction Commission on Thursday raised the emergency response to Level II, the second-highest in the four-tier warning system, in Hunan as floods continue to batter the province