Key points
- Around 80,900 people had been evacuated by Tuesday: Xinhua
- Severe flooding has inundated several villages
- Rescue teams deployed boats for rescue work in affected areas
ISLAMABAD: Continuous heavy rainfall and upstream inflows have triggered severe flooding in two counties of Guizhou Province in southwest China, prompting mass evacuations, according to China’s state-run news agency.
Around 80,900 people had been evacuated by Tuesday afternoon in the southwestern province of Guizhou, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
As of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, 48,900 residents were temporarily evacuated in Rongjiang County and 32,000 in Congjiang County. The flood control emergency response has been escalated to Level I, the highest, in both counties.
In Rongjiang county a football field was “submerged under three meters of water”, Xinhua said.
Rescue operation
Long Tian, a local near the stadium, recalled that when he woke up at 8 a.m. Tuesday, the water downstairs was already thigh-deep.
“The water rose very quickly, so I stayed on the third floor waiting for rescue. By the afternoon, I had been transferred to safety,” Xinhua cited Long as saying.
Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed severe flooding has inundated villages and collapsed a bridge in one mountainous area of the province.
Disaster relief efforts
Rescue teams, including firefighters and volunteers, deployed boats and other equipment for the rescue work in the two counties.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said Wednesday that it has allocated 100 million yuan (about 13.95 million US dollars) to assist disaster relief efforts in southwest China’s Guizhou Province.
