Heavy rains, flooding and landslides hit vast areas of China

ACT member Amity Foundation has provided the ACT Co-ordinating office with the following information:

Sichuan Province - Suining Prefecture – the heavy rainstorms (reaching 450 millimeters in 2 days in the worst hit areas) caused water levels in the rivers to rise rapidly resulting in flooding and serious land/mud slides. Preliminary statistics reveal 10 persons killed, 2 missing and 474 people injured; 1.8 million people affected and about 600 kilometers of county/township roads destroyed. Economic loss in Sichuan Province is estimated to be over USD 242 million.

Guizhou Province - Meitan County is the worst hit county in this province with a rainfall of 177 millimeters in one day. The whole city of Meitan was suddenly flooded due to the Meijian River (the longest river that runs through the county) breaking its embankment. In some places of the city, the water is 4 meters deep. Traffic, communication, power and water supplies were cut off. 230,000 people were affected and 1,000 people evacuated. The direct economic loss is about USD14.5 million.

Shaanxi Province - The violent rainstorms affected 98 counties, causing extensive flooding and landslides. In Fuping County on 8 June alone, the rainfall reached 489.2 millimeters. Traffic, communications and power supplies were cut off. The 150-meter-long Bahe Railway Bridge on the Longhai Railway, the major east-west rail artery of the country was destroyed.

Ninxia Hui Autonomous Region - Yinchuan and Wuzhong prefectures are the worst hit with severe flooding and mud slides. According to statistics 1 person is missing; 17,000 people were evacuated; 1.3 million people affected with 0.8 million people seriously affected.

Immediate needs in the severely affected areas

Relief items such as instant food, rice, salt, clothing, quilts, tents, plastic sheeting, water purifying tablets, medicines and kerosene are urgently needed. Emergency repair of destroyed infrastructure, communication and power supplies have to be undertaken on a priority basis as they are vital to the rescue and assistance support.

Relief Work by Local Governments

The local governments are engaged in the most urgent relief aspects: rescuing and resettling of people, emergency repair of communication and power supply facilities, and emergency repair of roads and bridges vital to emergency assistance and traffic. Distribution of water, food rice and also some clothing and quilts to the worst affected victims is also in progress.

In Shaanxi Province, an allocation of about USD 908,000 has been made for emergency assistance. 4,200 quilts and 700 tents have been sent to the two most seriously affected counties of Kangshi and Luoshang. Clothing and quilts worth about USD60,500 were also urgently ordered and manufactured for the two counties. Also four tons of instant food, medicine and 100 tents were transported to the isolated Fuping County by helicopters.

ACT response

The Amity Foundation is closely following the situation and in contact with local partner churches and the Provincial Civil Affairs Bureau in the affected provinces. Amity has transferred 50,000 yuan (about USD 6,053) from its revolving fund to its partner church in Shaanxi Province for emergency purchase of instant noodles for severely affected victims in the south of the province. Amity is also making an emergency order for food rice worth 200,000 yuan (about USD24,213) based on a pledge received from ACT member the Hong Kong Christian Council (HKCC).

Amity is planning to provide assistance to Ninxia province - the worst affected province - concentrating its efforts on about 4,000 evacuated and severely affected families. Tentative assistance plans are:

Crisis phase: Provision of two quilts to each of the 4,000 families; Provision of 15 kilos of food rice per month to each of the about 16,000 individuals (based on 4 persons per family) in the 4,000 families for 2 months

Post crisis phase: to help repair unsafe houses that are likely to collapse for about 600 families from among the 4,000 families; to help rebuild houses for about 160 homeless families

The budget estimation is as follows:

An ACT appeal is foreseen as soon as the Amity Foundation has finalised its assessment.