A mudslide caused by Typhoon Rananim left at least 25 people
dead, 22 missing and nine injured early Friday morning in the
mountains of Zhejiang
Province.
Officials with the Leqing Flood Control and Drought Relief
Headquarters said 52 buildings were destroyed, some of which were
classrooms and dormitories of primary and middle schools. A total
of 27 families were affected by the disaster, which took place
between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m., when most of the residents were still
asleep.
Typhoon Rananim, the 14th typhoon of the year, had ripped
through Zhejiang Province Thursday night and already killed 115
people.
Local media are reporting that life is beginning to return to
normal in other typhoon-hit regions in the province.
In Wenling, the city hit hardest by the storm, about 38,000
evacuated residents have returned home or are settled in temporary
residences until they rebuild their houses.
"We are ready to put up houses again and start a new life," said
Liang Wugui, a migrant worker from Yunnan
Province. He said that the local government had provided food
and lodging.
By?Sunday afternoon, electricity in about 70 percent of areas
hit by power outages had been restored, according to the local
power provider. Power is expected to be returned to those currently
experiencing outages by Wednesday.
Most damaged roads and expressways have been reopened to
traffic.
Victims' relatives in the town of Xinhe, on the outskirts of
Wenling, have received subsidies from the Ministry of Civil
Affairs, according to Zhang Wenyang, a top official in Xinhe.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs has allocated 46 million yuan
(US$5.5 million) to typhoon-stricken areas in Zhejiang Province.
The local government will also pay compensation to the victims'
relatives.
The Ministry
of Water Resources and Ministry of Finance have also
appropriated 15 million yuan (US$1.8 million) to assist with
reconstruction.
Insurance companies have begun their investigations of declared
property losses. In Taizhou, another badly damaged area, 633
factories have filed damage claims, according to the local
insurance association.
Tons of bleach powder and disinfectants were delivered to local
residents to help prevent epidemic diseases from spreading,
according to the Provincial Bureau of Public Health.
(China Daily August 16, 2004)
