China orders emergency work as floods ravage south

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

BEIJING (AFP) — China ordered emergency work to strengthen swollen dykes and reservoirs Tuesday and evacuated tens of thousands of people as large swathes of the south reeled under their worst storms in decades.

Officials said more than 40 rivers nationwide were exceeding their warning levels with torrential rain continuing to pound the densely populated region.

The civil affairs ministry said the death toll in nine southern provinces and regions had reached 63 Tuesday, with 13 missing, since the latest bout of rains began pummelling the area in early June.

However, state-run Xinhua news agency said the flooding could have resulted in more than 200 dead or missing, citing the National Meteorological Centre. The centre declined comment when contacted by AFP....