Death toll rises to 30 in Anhui, another peak to come

Chinese soldiers make preparation for flood rescue and relief operations at the Yingshang section of the Huihe River in east China's Anhui Province on Sunday, July 15, 2007. [Photo: Xinhua]
July 16 - Disaster relief authority in east China's Anhui Province announced Sunday that floods have killed 30 people and affected more than 15 million residents in 15 cities of the province.
Consistent rainfalls started to pour down Saturday in the southwestern Anhui and northern part of the Huaihe river, with precipitation in 30 townships exceeding 100 millimeters.
By 8:00 a.m. Sunday, 60,000 houses have collapsed, and 585,000 people have been forced to relocate. A total of 300,000 people are suffering from drinking water shortage. Total economic losses have reached 9.17 billion yuan (about 120 million U.S. dollars), latest statistics from the provincial disaster relief show.
The provincial civil affairs department has allocated 5.3 million yuan for the disaster relief work. By Thursday, 44 million yuan allocated by the central government has been sent to the flood-battered areas.
Sources with the Huaihe Water Resources Committee said water level at Wangjiaba, a crucial hydrological station along Huaihe, has been pushed up by fierce downpours in the upper reaches of the river to 28.21 meters by 10:00 a.m. Sunday.
When the last flood peak arrived, eight buffer zones along the Huaihe River were commandeered, including the Mengwa flood reserve near Fuyang in the eastern province of Anhui. The water discharge led to the evacuation of about 157,800 residents.
The committee said the third flood peak is likely to pass Wangjiaba late Monday, and they may have to discharge water from the station to Mengwa again if the water level reaches warning marks.
Nine flood reserve areas along the Huaihe River, with eight in Anhui, have been commandeered to combat the coming flood peak. The Luohewa flood reserve area in Huainan City of Anhui was put to use for the first time of the year at 4:00 p.m. Sunday.
On Friday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited troops and residents fighting the floods in Anhui. He promised that evacuees will get maximum compensation allowed by rules from the government.
By Friday, a total of 403 Chinese had been killed as a result of flooding, 105 were missing and 3.17 million people had been relocated as the rains coupled with ferocious flood waters continues to batter central and southern China.