Floods in China: 90 per cent of government-ordered evacuees had to find their own place to stay
- Tens of millions of people were affected by floods and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed
- 219 people died but officials say decisive and large-scale evacuation saved many lives
Flooding through central and southern China has claimed the lives of 219 people and caused 178.9 billion yuan (US$25.77 billion) in economic losses since heavy rains began in June.
Tens of millions of people had been affected by floods and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed, Zhou Xuewen, China’s vice-minister of emergency management, said in Beijing on Thursday.
Zhou said most of the 4 million displaced residents were “temporary” evacuees, spending one or two days away from home before returning, while the rest had been ordered by the government to resettle, or move from their homes.
Those ordered to leave were forced to find their own housing where they could. Zhou estimated more than 90 per cent of those resettled by the government had to rely on friends and family for housing.