The death toll from landslides and flooding over the past few
days has continued to climb.
In Ning'an in northeast China's Heilongjiang
Province, 103 people have been confirmed dead, including 99
school children, with six others still missing, according to the
latest reports released yesterday by the Ministry of Civil
Affairs.
In east China's Shandong
Province, at least three people have been killed and 40 injured
since Tuesday as strong winds, hailstorms and tornadoes swept over
10 counties.
In neighboring Jiangsu
Province, such calamities claimed 10 lives and injured 108.
However, the worst may be yet to come as more bad weather is
predicted in the coming days.
Next week, more than half of China faces potential flooding
while the rest of the country swelters under scorching
temperatures.
"A major rain zone will dominate the south, stretching to areas
south of the Yangtze River and eastern parts of southwest China,"
said Xiao Ziniu, deputy director of the China Meteorological
Centre, yesterday in Beijing.
Consulting with meteorologists from Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan,
Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces through a televised
conference, Xiao warned more disasters could be triggered by the
coming rains.
(China Daily June 17, 2005)