(1) Severe Floods Claim 82 Lives in China
[CND, 07/12/97] Severe floods have killed at least 82 people in eastern
and southern China, AFP and Reuters reported on Friday, quoting local
officials. By Thursday, the worst floods in 20 years in Guangdong
Province have caused at least 41 deaths and $221.2 million direct damage.
About 540,000 homes were destroyed and 3.26 million people were affected.
In Guangxi Province, the floods in 37 districts and cities killed 29
people, seriously damaged or destroyed 12,500 houses, and affected about 6
million residents. Flooding in Zhejiang Province on Thursday has claimed
12 lives and caused $361 million economic losses. It also left 430,000
stranded and damaged 80,000 homes. About 7,100 industrial and mining
companies were forced to stop production. In Shanghai, about 70 homes
were damaged in the floods.
Last year, record-setting floods in the eastern and southeastern China
killed over 3,000 people and costed the economy approximately $26.5
billion. (Weijun LIU, Ray ZHANG, Guochen WAN)