The National Meteorological Center of China today warned of more rain on Sunday in some of the areas worst hit by floods that have claimed 1,100 lives so far. China is facing its worst flooding in a decade and Yangtze River is flowing above the danger mark as summer rain continues to lash the southern parts of the country.
The Chinese weather authorities today warned that the torrential downpours would hit parts of the badly hit southwestern province of Sichuan today. Notably 100,000 people have been evacuated from Sichuan in recent days due to the continuous rain. The Center added that neighboring areas including Yunnan, Zhejiang and Fujian would also see heavy rain.
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao yesterday admitted that the situation was at a "crucial stage," and expressed fear that it could get worse in the coming days. Wen made the comments after visiting the flood-hit central province of Hubei. At least 13 people were dead and another 20 missing in Sichuan province due to the rain-triggered floods and landslides, reported the official Xinhua news agency.
Xinhua added that the rain fell continuously for 10 hours in one township creating flood-like situations. The continuous rainfall swamped all single-storey houses, cut off the roads leading into the town and snapped power supplies and communications. In Shaanxi province, workers were repairing a collapsed dyke on the Qianhe River, Xinhua said today. The flooding has affected more than 100 million people and it has caused economic losses worth 22 billion dollars, said the Chinese government.
