Floods have affected at least one in 10 residents and killed
1,138 in the country this year, but better prevention and relief
have helped reduce loss of life and property, a senior official
said Tuesday.
The country still faces an uphill battle against floods and
droughts in the months to come, partly because of extreme weather
and damaged infrastructure, Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei
told a news briefing in Beijing.
Rainfall has been abnormal this year, with floods and droughts
affecting large swathes of the country, Chen said.
He said flood defense facilities, timely evacuation of people
and early warnings have cut the death toll this year by nearly half
compared with the same period of an average year.
In June and July, the Huaihe River, the country's third longest,
suffered the worst flooding since 1954.
But losses were significantly lower thanks to floodwater
diversion and a new batch of river-harnessing projects, which
started in 2003 and will be completed this year at a cost of 44.6
billion yuan (US$5.9 billion), Chen told the press conference
organized by the State Council Information Office.
Across the country, floods wrecked 883,000 houses and impacted
139 million people with 1,348 dead or missing by Monday, according
to latest ministry figures.
"Late August is still a critical period for flood control and
drought relief," Chen said. "We are still faced with a severe
situation."
The next two months are likely to see more typhoons and more
rainfall in the tributaries of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, the
longest and second longest in the country, he said.
Extreme weather, such as storms, will inevitably cause flash
floods, landslides and mudslides, he said, adding that some
water-control facilities damaged in this year's floods have to be
repaired.
In particular, 37,000 of the 85,000 reservoirs face "perils",
Chen warned.
"These reservoirs have played a remarkable role in flood
control, water supply and irrigation, but the bulk of them were
built between the 1950s and 1970s, and have inherent design defects
or are poorly maintained," he said. "The danger is clear."
The central and local governments plan to budget 51 billion yuan
(US$6.7 billion) to reinforce or eliminate the dangers to 6,200
large and important reservoirs in three years, he said.
(China Daily August 29, 2007)