China battles heavy rain, major flooding as thousands evacuated in Typhoon Gaemi’s wake
- ‘Record’ water levels burst dykes in central China’s Hunan province, as authorities pledge more disaster relief
Heavy rainfall in central China’s Hunan province triggered three river dyke breaches in less than 20 hours and forced the evacuations of thousands of people, as water reached “record levels”, state media reported.
On Sunday evening, floodwaters breached two other dykes on the waterway – a tributary of the Xiang River – forcing more than 4,000 people to leave their homes, state media said.
“Due to the surge of the river, the water level has almost submerged tree trunks on either side of the river … as well as the ground floors of many homes,” state broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday.
On Sunday morning, 15 people were killed and six others injured after a severe landslide triggered by heavy rain swept away a guest house in the city of Hengyang, according to state media.
China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, has issued 500 million yuan (US$69 million) in emergency funding for recovery efforts in the provinces of Hunan, Henan, Sichuan, and Shaanxi, and for typhoon disaster relief in Fujian.