(1) Floods Claim over 160 Lives
[CND, 05/28/98] The heavy summer flooding across China has claimed more
than 160 lives as details of flooding in Central Hunan and southwestern
Guangxi emerged, according to AFP. With a minimum of 60 dead in Hunan
and 7 in the northeast regions of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regions,
the cumulative nationwide death toll has reached 163. Since the start
of May, floods have caused deaths in Guangdong, Sichuan, Fujian, Hubei,
Gansu and Xinjiang. According to the disaster relief department of the
ministry of civil affairs, more flooding is expected in June and July.
The worst affected areas will move north from Hubei and Hunan into
Anhui and other provinces north of the Yangtze river. Chinese
officials have warned that the El Nino weather phenomenon could bring
more severe floods than usual this year. (Linda WU, YIN De An)
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