Death toll from Bilis rises to 177
(Agencies/Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-07-17 20:03
Landslides triggered by torrential rain kills seven people and injures two in
Pubei County in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region by Monday
afternoon, bringing the country's death toll of tropical storm Bilis to at least
177.
Vehicles make their way on a flooded street in Fuzhou, China's Fujian
province, July 16, 2006. [Newsphoto] |
The rain-swollen Leishui River in the central province of Hunan overflowed,
flooding the Shenjiawen Colliery and killing seven technicians who were in the
pit for emergency rescue operations and six workers who were trapped in
collapsed houses and flooded pump rooms, rescuers confirmed on Monday.
Continuous rainstorm caused by the tropical storm that landed in China on
Friday swelled the upper reaches of the Leishui River in Leiyang city and
destroyed the dams of a reservoir close to the colliery on Saturday.
Hunan is the worst-hit province as 92 people have been confirmed dead and
more than 100 missing. Floods and rainstorms set off by the tropical storm also
claimed 33 lives in Guangdong Province, 43 in Fujian Province and nine in
Guangxi.
Fourteen of Fujian's 68 counties and cities have recorded rainfall of more
than 200 millimeters, including two whose rainfall exceeded 400 millimeters.
Three million people had been affected by flooding, 19,100 houses destroyed
and 519,000 people evacuated by 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.
|
