Rain forces thousands to flee homes

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-7-5  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

ABOUT 6,000 people had to flee their homes in Enshi Tujia-Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in central China's Hubei Province, as torrential rain and high winds moved into the region.

The local weather department said the worst-hit regions were Enshi and Lichuan cities and Jianshi County. Jianshi had 220mm of rain. About 428,000 people were affected, with 5,843 evacuated.

Local officials said 14,346 hectares of crops were affected, of which 2,806 ha were destroyed, and some 400 homes damaged or destroyed. Losses were estimated at 102 million yuan (US$14.57 million).

The local weather department said there would be more rain or showers in the next three days, and warned of flash floods and landslides.

More rain is forecast for about half of the country over the next 10 days, the National Meteorological Center said.

The rain will cover northern China, the eastern part of the southwest, and the western part of southern China, the NMC said. Precipitation is expected to be 20 to 50 percent higher than usual, and some regions will get double their normal rainfall.

The center also said the drought in northwest Ningxia and the western part of Inner Mongolia would continue.

Earthquake-hit Sichuan Province and the southern part of Shaanxi and Gansu provinces will be sunny.