New rains kill 21 more in flood-hit China:
Xinhua
Published on Aug 21, 2013
1:29 PM
A truck is seen submerged on a flooded street under the influence of Typhoon Utor in Shantou, Guangdong province, on
Aug 20, 2013. Heavy rains killed 21 more people as flooding spread to north-west China, state media said on Wednesday.
Severe weather in other parts of the country left more than 130 dead. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
BEIJING (AFP) - Heavy rains killed 21 construction workers as flooding spread to north-west China, state
media said on Wednesday, after severe weather in other parts of the country left more than 130 dead.
Sudden rainstorms and hail battered Haixi in Qinghai province, "washing away" the workers on Tuesday
evening, the official Xinhua news agency said.
"The workers were repairing a construction site at the time when the tragedy happened," it added.
A search for three missing people was under way.
Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for "persistent efforts" to save victims from what Xinhua
described as "the worst floods in decades" in north-east China.
Authorities said 85 people in the region were confirmed dead, 105 missing, and some 3.74 million people
had been affected by the severe weather.
The worst-affected province was Liaoning, where Xinhua quoted Guo Shouying, 54, as saying:
"Floodwater gushed out of the embankments and my mother was swept away.
"The neighbours heard her desperate calls for help, but the flood was so huge that no one dared to swim
into the water to rescue her."
Her mother's body was found 100m from her home in Xinbin the next day.
"One hand pressed her nose and her mouth was wide open, she was probably choked by water," said Ms
Guo tearfully.
Another 49 people have perished in Hunan, central China, and in the southern provinces of Guangdong
and Guangxi, the ministry of civil affairs announced.
Nearly 3,000 military personnel were mobilised to help with the relief efforts, Xinhua reported earlier.
Taiwan closes offices, suspends flights ahead
of tropical storm
Published on Aug 21, 2013
3:58 PM
A pedestrian walks in front a glass door protected with tape in anticipation of Tropical Storm Trami in Taipei on Aug 21,
2013. Taiwan closed offices and suspended flights on Wednesday as Tropical Storm Trami churned towards the island, with
meteorologists cautioning against torrential rains and strong winds. -- PHOTO: AFP
TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan closed offices and suspended flights on Wednesday as Tropical Storm Trami
churned towards the island, with meteorologists cautioning against torrential rains and strong winds.
The Central Weather Bureau urged the public to be vigilant as the storm was likely to introduce
"cloudbursts" - more than 100 mm of rain per hour - in some areas.
Persistent torrential rains could lead to landslides in mountainous areas and flooding, it warned.
The storm, with gusts up to 137 km per hour, was moving west north-west at a speed of 25 km per hour,
the bureau said.
Officials at the bureau said the impact may be felt mostly from Wednesday night to Thursday morning
even if it did not make landfall.
More than 200 mm of rain has fallen in various places in the north the past day, and the volume could
surge to one metre, the bureau warned.
Financial markets were closed, while offices and schools in the north, the area which is anticipated to be
mostly affected by the storm, shut down.
All the flights and ferries between Taiwan and offshore islands were terminated, according to the
transportation ministry.
As part of the government's preventive measures, the defence ministry deployed around 2,000 soldiers in
some areas prone to be hit by flooding and landslides, and placed another 50,000 on stand-by.
President Ma Ying-jeou cut an overseas trip short by one day, flying back to Taiwan from a visit to the
Caribbean via a stopover in the United States.
Last month Typhoon Soulik battered Taiwan with torrential rain and powerful winds, leaving two people
dead and at least 100 injured.
Roofs were ripped from homes, debris and fallen trees littered the streets and some areas were submerged
by floods.
China braces itself for typhoon as flood toll
rises
Published on Aug 21, 2013
7:46 PM

BEIJING (AFP) - China braced itself for the arrival of Typhoon Trami on Wednesday with emergency
officials making disaster relief preparations, as the country recovered from severe weather which left more
than 150 people dead.
A "disaster relief response" had been issued, the National Disaster Reduction Commission said, as the
typhoon approached the coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang where it was expected to make landfall
overnight on Wednesday.
The commission also urged provinces across central and southern China to prepare emergency services,
particularly those that had already been battered by Typhoon Utor last week.
"As the typhoon-affected zone and the Utor affected zones overlap, and because of the short interval of
time, water levels are already high and flooding may occur," the commission said in a statement on its
website.
Ahead of making landfall in China, Trami was drenching Taiwan on Wednesday evening, where the
Central Weather Bureau was still categorising it as a tropical storm.
Meanwhile, the death toll of construction workers killed when sudden rainstorms and hail battered Haixi in
Qinghai province in the north-west rose to 24, authorities said.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for "persistent efforts" to save victims from what Xinhua, the state
news agency, described as "the worst floods in decades" in northeast China.
Authorities said 85 people in the region were confirmed dead, 105 missing, and some 3.74 million people
had been affected by the severe weather.
The worst-affected province was Liaoning, where Guo Shouying, 54, told Xinhua: "Floodwater gushed out
of the embankments and my mother was swept away.
"The neighbours heard her desperate calls for help, but the flood was so huge that no one dared to swim
into the water to rescue her." Her mother's body was found 100 metres from her home in Xinbin the next
day.
"One hand pressed her nose and her mouth was wide open, she was probably choked by water," said Ms
Guo tearfully.
Another 49 people have perished in Hunan, central China, and in the southern provinces of Guangdong
and Guangxi, the ministry of civil affairs announced.
Nearly 3,000 military personnel were mobilised to help with the relief efforts, Xinhua reported earlier.
Floods in Pakistan from monsoon rains kill
139
Published on Aug 21, 2013
9:40 PM
Volunteers of Pakistani religious group of Jamaat-ud-Dawwa help stranded villagers to move to safer ground in the suburbs
of Lahore, Pakistan on Tuesday, Aug 20, 2013. Pakistan's government says flooding caused by torrential rains has killed 139
people and affected nearly a million others. -- FILE PHOTO: AP
ISLAMABAD (AP) - Pakistan's government says flooding caused by torrential rains has killed 139 people
and affected nearly a million others.
A statement on Wednesday on the monsoon season released by the National Disaster Management
Authority said 47 of the dead are from Punjab province.
Sindh province was the next hardest hit with 34 people killed.
Monsoon season generally starts in the late summer in Pakistan and is marked by heavy rains that often
lead to widespread flooding of rivers and streams.
In 2010, catastrophic floods during monsoon season put one-fifth of the country under water and killed
1,985 people.
Earthquake rattles Mexico City, no damage
reported
Published on Aug 21, 2013
9:38 PM
Employees of the foreign ministry evacuate the building after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook Mexico City on Wednesday,
Aug 21, 2013. Its epicentre was located in the poor southern state of Guerrero, the United States Geological Survey (USGS)
said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. -- PHOTO: AFP
MEXICO CITY (REUTERS) - A magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook Mexico City on Wednesday, its
epicentre located in the poor southern state of Guerrero, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said,
but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Buildings swayed for around a minute in Mexico City, and several offices evacuated staff.
The epicenter was 18km north-west of the town of Ayutla de los Libres, the USGS said, inland from
Mexico's Pacific coast and the popular tourist resort of Acapulco.
It said the tremor struck at a depth of 34.8 km. The USGS initially reported the quake at 6.4 magnitude, but
then revised down the reading.
Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said on Twitter that there were no immediate reports of
injuries or damage in the capital.