Beijing, Aug 11 (EFE).- A total of 29 people have died and 16 remain missing due to devastating rains in the northern Chinese province of Hebei in recent weeks, the provincial authorities said Friday.
Members of the armed police force clean up sludge left after the flood caused by rain storms brought by Typhoon Doksuri inside the teaching building of a high school in Zhuozhou, north China’s Hebei Province, 10 August 2023. EFE-EPA/XINHUA/Zhu Xudong CHINA OUT/MANDATORY CREDIT EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Torrential rains lashed the province, which has an area similar to that of Uruguay and a population of more than 70 million, for almost 144 hours between 8 am on July 27 and 8 am on Aug. 2, with an average rainfall of 146.2 millimeters.
Villagers carrying disaster relief rice walk back home in Shangzhuang Village of Sanpo Town, Laishui County, north China’s Hebei Province, 09 August 2023 (issued 10 August 2023). EFE-EPA/XINHUA/Yang Shiyao CHINA OUT/MANDATORY CREDIT EDITORIAL USE ONLY
The authorities expressed their condolences to the victims and said that search and rescue efforts to locate the missing were still underway, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
An aerial photo shows workers operating machinery to repair a road leading to Shangzhuang Village of Sanpo Town, Laishui County, north China’s Hebei Province 09 August 2023 (issued 10 August 2023). EFE-EPA/XINHUA/Yang Shiyao CHINA OUT/UK AND IRELAND OUT/MANDATORY CREDIT EDITORIAL USE ONLY
The rains also damaged some 31,970 hectares of crops, of which 13,150 hectares were completely lost, and caused the collapse of or damage to more than 190,000 homes.
An aerial photo shows shows workers operating machinery to repair a bridge in Sanpo Town, Laishui County, north China’s Hebei Province 09 August 2023 (issued 10 August 2023). EFE-EPA/XINHUA/Yang Shiyao CHINA OUT/UK AND IRELAND OUT/MANDATORY CREDIT EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Some 1,150 schools, 1,900 health centers and basic infrastructure such as roads, bridges, electrical and communication networks and hydraulic works were affected, the state-run China News Service reported.
Typhoon Doksuri, which swept across China from south to north, also left at least 33 people dead after causing Beijing, which is surrounded by Hebei, to record its heaviest rainfall in 140 years.
The central government has allocated 520 million yuan ($72 million) to help the rain-affected regions with another 732 million yuan ($102.3 million) to support the recovery of agricultural production.
In 2021 and 2022, summers in central China were marked by heavy rains not seen in decades, which resulted in more than 300 deaths, even as a persistent drought affected the southern parts of the country. EFE
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