Aid agencies battle to cope with a series of disasters
The prospect looms of a prolonged period of human and economic loss
With floods, drought and earthquakes continuing to affect large areas of the country, relief agencies are bracing for a prolonged period of economic and human loss.
The agencies have renewed appeals for aid to help victims of devastating floods and heatwaves along the Huai, Yellow and Yangtze rivers, as well as those affected by an earthquake that struck Yunnan province last week.
Donations from relief agencies are gradually reaching victims in flood and drought-affected areas.
Officials at the Red Cross in Hong Kong said yesterday the organisation had raised three million yuan (HK$2.82 million) to provide rice, disinfectant and water-purification tablets for sufferers in eight provinces along the Huai and Yangtze rivers: Anhui, Guizhou, Hunan, Guangxi, Hubei, Jiangxi, Henan and Jiangsu.
Speaking from Henan province yesterday, senior International Relief Service officer Enkas Chau said large areas of farmland were still under water, while mud huts had collapsed, leaving many people homeless.
Many people are now living in makeshift shelters and surviving on limited quantities of food. Most have been drinking unclean water and are suffering from diarrhoea.
Mr Chau said the adverse conditions were being made worse by temperatures as high as 39 degrees Celsius. He added that the Red Cross would try to help residents rebuild their homes or resettle.
World Vision Hong Kong said it had raised more than $1.2 million to provide food and quilts to flood victims in Guangxi, Jiangxi and Anhui. Spokeswoman Pinky Lam said the organisation would also concentrate on long-term projects, such as rebuilding houses, schools and clinics.
Bonnie So, head of the Red Cross International Relief Service, estimated that 140 million people had been affected by the flooding and 500 killed.
The Ming Pao newspaper, which is running the East China Flood Relief Project, said it had raised $3.2 million. The project will donate funds to charity organisations which submit proposals for funding.
The Central Meteorological Administration yesterday predicted heavy rain for Inner Mongolia and other northern areas, as well as the lower reaches of the Yellow river. Temperatures up to 41 degrees will continue to hit areas around the Huai river, and cities including Wuhan, Nanchang and Changsha along the lower reaches of the Yangtze, as well as other parts of the south. In Nanjing, at least six people died from heatstroke as hundreds of others packed hospitals.
Meteorologists said the heatwave was likely to persist in the south, and drought areas would continue to spread.
Xinhua yesterday reported that four hours of torrential rain caused serious flooding to the Fugu section of the Yellow River, leaving at least two people missing.
