THE death toll from recent flooding in Beijing rose to 33, including five rescuers, and another 18 people were missing, officials said yesterday, as much of the country’s north remains threatened by unusually heavy rainfall. The State Council on Tuesday mapped out further measures in flood relief and reconstruction. Given possible typhoons in the future and subsequent downpours, there will still be a hard fight against disasters, according to an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Qiang. No effort should be spared in searching for the missing and minimizing casualties. Basic livelihoods of the affected people must be guaranteed, including enough food and clothing, temporary shelters, clean water, and timely medical treatment. The meeting said there would be thorough environmental disinfection and quick public health response to prevent severe epidemics after the floods. Days of heavy rains hit areas in Beijing’s mountainous western outskirts especially hard, causing the collapse of 59,000 homes, damage to almost 150,000 others, according to the city government. The casualty and damage numbers were current as of Tuesday, Xia Linmao, a Beijing vice mayor, said at a news conference yesterday. More than 110 rivers or streams experienced floods exceeding safety levels, and more than 280 kilometers of river embankments were damaged. Four medium-sized reservoirs, 13 small reservoirs and 16 water gates were damaged, Xia said. The unprecedented rains caused the most devastating, widespread and economically costly natural disaster ever recorded in Beijing’s Mentougou District, China Daily reported, citing Yu Huafeng, Party chief of Mentougou. Roughly 310,000 people, accounting for 77% of the district’s population, were affected, with 8,418 collapsed rooms and 26,493 severely damaged rooms. Other parts of China have also seen heavy flooding, partly from the impact of Typhoon Doksuri over the weekend. Hebei Province just outside Beijing has seen some of the region’s worst flooding. Floodwaters in Zhuozhou, southwest of Beijing, started to recede Saturday, allowing some of the 125,000 evacuated residents to return to their homes. A rescue operation was also underway yesterday in the tourist resort of Ya’an in Sichuan, where about a dozen visitors were swept away by rushing waters, State broadcaster CCTV reported. (SD News) | 