China Flood: So far 29 people have died due to severe floods in Hebei, China, economic loss of billions
China Flood: At least 29 people have died and economic losses run into billions of dollars in severe floods in China's northern province of Hebei. China News Service said official preliminary estimates showed 3.9 million residents were affected by the floods and more than 40,000 homes collapsed. While more than 1.75 million residents have been relocated.
At least 29 people were killed and hundreds of billions of dollars in economic damage were caused by severe floods this month in China's northern province of Hebei. Rescuers were still searching for 16 missing people as of Thursday, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The reconstruction is expected to take two years to complete. State media China News Service said initial estimates showed the direct economic loss to the province was 95.8 billion yuan (US$13.2 billion).
Last week, Hebei was hit by severe floods that devastated the region. China News Service said official preliminary estimates announced on Friday showed 3.9 million residents, or about 5 percent of the province's population, being affected by the floods and more than 40,000 homes collapsed. It added that 155,500 homes and other facilities that provided power and communications were severely damaged. While more than 1.75 million residents have been relocated.
According to Xinhua, the government has promised to ensure that affected residents can return to their homes or get new homes before winter. Earlier this week, the death toll from recent floods in Beijing rose to 33 and it could take up to three years to fully restore services, given the level of damage.
The Chinese government on Friday allocated 1.46 billion yuan (US$202 million) of disaster relief funds to aid flood-hit areas including Beijing and Tianjin, state media CCTV reported. It said this brought the total amount of the relief fund to 7.74 billion yuan (US$1.07 billion).
