Civil affairs authorities in south China's Guangdong Province
are coordinating all available resources to help flood-affected
farmers as weather conditions in the hardest hit areas finally
eased on Friday.
"There have been no new reports of fatalities today and all
flood-hit areas had better weather," said Liu Zhiwei, an official
with the provincial civil affairs authority.
The provincial weather bureau also predicted better weather
conditions this weekend, but warned of possible heavy rainfall next
week.
"We're distributing relief goods to affected farmers, and now is
a crucial time for us to help them get back to their farms," Liu
said.
Sources with the provincial civil affairs department said
flooding caused by heavy rains over the past week had killed at
least 23 people in Guangdong and affected up to 2.33 million
people.
"A great number of affected people are from poor mountainous
counties in the eastern area," Liu said.
"It will be very difficult for them to live through the hard
days after the flood."
A number of enterprises, including the Beijing-based China
Huaneng Group, have donated relief funds.
In Fengshun, a hardest-hit mountainous county in eastern
Guangdong, the local government has distributed up to 169 tons of
rice to affected villagers.
"But more food is needed over the long term since farmers lost
almost everything after the flood," Lu Shengwen, a media official
with the county government, said.
"They will also not be able to harvest anything for the coming
three months since crops have been destroyed here."
Lu estimated 2,350 tons of rice worth up to 8 million yuan was
to be needed for affected farmers.
(China Daily June 16, 2007)