Floodwaters receding in southern China

Floodwaters receding in southern China

Floodwaters are receding in hard-hit southern China and workers have nearly finished
repairing a dike breach that forced the evacuation of 100,000 people.
Torrential rains pummelled a wide swath of China's south and more than three million
people had to be evacuated from their homes over the past two weeks, according to
the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
China sustains major flooding annually along the mighty Yangtze and other major
waterways but this year's floods have been especially devastating, killing 235
people while 109 remain missing, the ministry says.
Floods have also caused 53 billion yuan ($A9.01 billion) in direct economic losses,
it said.
Water had receded enough that some people returned to inspect their homes over the
weekend, China Central Television said.
Residents returned to find their mud-brick houses covered in sludge in areas that
had been under two metres of water after a reservoir overflowed in Malong county of
Yunnan province.
Workers using dump trucks and earth movers were repairing a breach in the dike on
the Fu River in Jiangxi province, according to CCTV footage. There was still 66
metres left to fill, and authorities expected to complete the repair on Monday.
Efforts also focused on other provinces with crews cleaning debris from mudslides
off highways and railway tracks, CCTV said.
Local authorities were ordered to increase patrols to inspect for damage.



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