(Bloomberg) -- China’s central government has urged regional authorities to step up flood prevention and disaster relief efforts, after heavy rains killed at least 15 people and displaced thousands across the country over the weekend.
The Asian nation faces a “severe and complicated” flood control situation this summer, with major waterways like the Yellow River and others likely to overflow amid an active typhoon season, Xinhua state news agency reported, citing a top leadership meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping on July 25. The national weather agency kept an orange warning in place for heavy rains, the second-highest level in its system.
The country’s top economic planning agency said on Monday it has allocated 500 million yuan ($68.9 million) from the central budget for infrastructure and public facility repairs in flood-hit areas in the Hunan, Henan and Fujian provinces. It was not immediately clear if the funds were in addition to a 475 million yuan disaster relief package announced by the Ministry of Finance on Saturday.
In addition, the top leadership also urged timely emergency rescue and “solid efforts” in the agricultural sector to minimize losses and ensure national food security.
Heavy rains are expected in parts of northeastern and northern regions in the next ten days, raising flood risk in some low-lying fields, China’s weather agency warned on Monday. High precipitation last week inundated some corn and cotton fields, with the acreage of waterlogged farms up 14% in parts of central and southern regions.
High temperature is also hitting some areas in the western region of Xinjiang and southern China, which could damage cotton and aquaculture in the region, the National Meteorological Centre said. Power supply is under pressure especially in southern regions, with the maximum load in cities in Guangdong and Hunan hitting record highs, according to local media outlet Securities Daily.
Various regions across China, including Guangdong in the south and Jiangxi and Anhui in the east, have since June experienced extreme weather that has caused damage to infrastructure and disrupted agricultural and industrial activity. Torrents continued over the weekend, triggering a landslide that killed fifteen people in the Hunan province, while more than 46,000 residents in the northeastern Liaoning province were forced to evacuate, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Typhoon Gaemi, which battered the Philippines and Taiwan last week, also disrupted rail services in northeastern China.
--With assistance from Hallie Gu.
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