Worst flood in decade causes havoc in NE China (2)

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Worst flood in decade causes havoc in NE China (2)

(Xinhua) 20:45, August 20, 2013

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More than 120,000 people, including nearly 10,000 soldiers, have joined the rescue and relief efforts in Fushun City.

"The dead cannot be revived. Those alive should be strong and go on with their lives. The disaster is very serious, but we can live through it with help from each other," said Zhao Guogang, 54, in Nankouqian Township.

"We picked some grain from the collapsed houses and the government also distributed drinking water and food," said Xu Yan, who is anxiously waiting for information about his father and daughter in the same township. The two were washed away in the floods and remain missing.

Official data show that floods have forced the relocation of 360,000 people, toppled more than 60,000 houses and affected 787,200 hectares of farmland in the northeast region.

TESTS AHEAD

The floods have not yet ended as Heilongjiang Province, which neighbors Russia, has been on high alert with several major rivers swelling above warning levels.

The stretch of the Heilong River in Jiameng County exceeded its record historical levels on Tuesday, putting pressure on flood control efforts, according to the Heilongjiang Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Floods have left 11 dead and three missing in Heilongjiang, with more than 140,000 people displaced.

The Heilong River, known in Russia as the Amur River, runs along the Sino-Russian border. The river's water level reached 100.56 meters in Jiameng, surpassing the record high of 100.47 meters in 1984.

The Heilong River's water level has hit 99.59 meters in Luobei County, 1.79 meters above the warning level, and 89.06 meters in Fuyuan County, 1.56 meters higher than the warning level.

The Heilong River's water level in Jiameng County has been rising by 20 cm to 30 cm each day, said Wang Xueming, a flood control expert in Jiameng.

Meanwhile, the water level of the Songhua River, the largest tributary of Heilong, reached 118.27 meters in Harbin, the Heilongjiang provincial capital, on Tuesday. The level exceeded the warning level by 17 cm.

In Jilin Province, which neighbors Heilongjiang and Liaoning, the latest rainstorms have left 16 people dead and five missing. More than 120,000 people were evacuated in the province.