China floods death toll reaches 74, hundreds
of thousands evacuated
Published on Aug 19, 2013
2:06 PM
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Soldiers use a speedboat to transport residents across a river after a bridge collapsed during sweeping floods in Fushun,
Liaoning province, Aug 17, 2013. Devastating floods at opposite ends of China have left 74 people dead and forced
hundreds of thousands to evacuate their homes in recent days, officials and state media said on Monday. -- FILE
BEIJING (AFP) - Devastating floods at opposite ends of China have left 74 people dead and forced
hundreds of thousands to evacuate their homes in recent days, officials and state media said on Monday.
Flooding in the north-east which left 54 people dead was described as "the worst in decades" by state news
agency Xinhua, while another 20 people died in the southern province of Guangdong as a result of the
weather, the ministry of civil affairs said.
A further seven people were missing in Guangdong, where 510,000 were evacuated because of the rain,
the ministry said.
Transport links were severely crippled, affecting tens of thousands of travellers.
Some services from Guangzhou railway station, Guangdong's most important transport hub, were
suspended due to rain and landslides.
State media said 80,000 passengers were stranded over the weekend because of the disruption.
Services were beginning to return to normal from Monday, the station said in a statement posted on its
website.
More than 2,800 soldiers have been drafted in to help with the relief efforts, Xinhua reported.
The torrential rain hit Guangdong as it was recovering from the passage of Typhoon Utor last week which
killed 10 people.
The northeastern provinces affected by the recent flooding include Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang.
Heavy rains continue to batter Manila and
surrounding areas
Published on Aug 20, 2013
9:07 AM
Residents wade through a flooded street in Binakayan township, Cavite province, south of Manila, Philippines on Monday,
Aug 19, 2013. Torrential rain relentlessly battered the flood-soaked Philippine capital and surrounding farming areas on
Tuesday, raising fears this week's monsoon death toll would climb well above three. -- PHOTO: AP
MANILA (AFP) - Torrential rain relentlessly battered the flood-soaked Philippine capital and surrounding
farming areas on Tuesday, raising fears this week's monsoon death toll would climb well above three.
Schools and government offices in Manila and many neighbouring regions were closed for a second
consecutive day, as floods swelled high into urban as well as rural homes.
The state weather agency warned the rain would continue through Tuesday, issuing its top level red alert
for Manila and neighbouring provinces.
The red alert means "serious flooding" is likely in low-lying areas, and more than three centimetres of rain
is expected every hour.
Three people had already been confirmed killed and four others were missing due to the rains, according to
the government's disaster agency's latest tally on Monday night.
Most of the victims were in the mountainous north of the main island of Luzon, more than 200 kilometres
from Manila.
The heavy rains were due to the seasonal monsoon being exacerbated by Tropical Storm Maring, which
was hovering to the north of the Philippines.
The Southeast Asian archipelago endures about 20 major storms or typhoons annually, generally in the
second half of the year and many of them deadly.
Landslides bury vehicles in southern China
Published on Aug 19, 2013
6:35 PM
Residents moving through floodwaters in Tengxian county, south-west China's Guangxi province on Aug 16, 2013.
Landslides have buried vehicles and trapped an unknown number of people in southern China's Guangxi province following
days of heavy rain fed by a typhoon. -- FILE PHOTO: AFP
BEIJING (AP) - Landslides have buried vehicles and trapped an unknown number of people in southern
China's Guangxi province following days of heavy rain fed by a typhoon.
An officer with the Guiping city traffic police said Monday's landslides buried six vehicles, but it was not
clear how many people were trapped. The woman declined to give her name as is common with Chinese
police.
Three people died on Sunday in a landslide near the city of Wuzhou.
Rains brought by last week's Typhoon Utor have caused severe flooding across Guangxi and neighbouring
Guangdong province.
In China's north-east, separate flooding has affected millions of people, with torrential downpours Saturday
causing the Nei River to overflow near the city of Fushun, sweeping away homes, roads, and utilities and
leaving 54 people dead.