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dam-l Reuters: China flash floods kill 34 in parched Gansu 6/6/2000
China flash floods kill 34 in parched Gansu
CHINA : June 6, 2000
BEIJING - Torrential rains caused flash floods that killed
34 people in the northwestern province of Gansu, one of
China's driest and poorest regions, a local official said
yesterday.
The rains on May 31, the heaviest in the remote region in 150 years,
injured 28 people and left more than 700 families homeless in the Gansu
district of Danchang, the official said.
He said floodwaters inundated most farmland and damaged houses.
State media warned on Monday that communities along China's major
rivers should prepare for heavy rains during the summer rainy season,
with a high potential for flooding across northern China in the coming
three months.
The China Daily quoted Water Resources Minister Wang Shucheng as
saying areas within the Yellow River, Huaihe and Yangtze River
systems could get between two and four times average rain this
summer.
The flood warning was issued amid a drought affecting the half of China
north of the Yangtze that officials have described as the worst in 10
years.
The drought has prompted the Beijing government to draw up a water
rationing plan for is 12 million residents. The China Daily said
authorities in the Chinese capital would unveil a new pricing system
designed to promote water conservation.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
--
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International Rivers Network
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