CHINESE flood control authorities discussed the current rain, floods, geological disaster situation, and the trend of Typhoon Khanun, the sixth typhoon of this year, according to a consultation meeting Wednesday. The meeting was held by the office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management, joined by the China Meteorological Administration, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and provincial-level flood control offices. Water levels surpassed the alert line in parts of the Haihe and the Songhua rivers, the meeting said, adding that Typhoon Khanun may affect Northeast China and bring strong wind and rain. The meeting called for intensifying search and rescue operations for missing individuals and facilitating the relocation of flood-affected residents. China has earmarked 1 billion yuan (US$139.69 million) to offset losses in areas in the Haihe River Basin inundated recently for flood storage purposes, according to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Water Resources on Wednesday. The Haihe River Basin suffered floods caused by rainstorms brought by Typhoon Doksuri in recent days, and eight national flood storage areas, located in Tianjin, Hebei and Henan, respectively, were put into use. The fund will go toward compensating property losses of residents living in these areas, the ministries said. More than 374,000 people in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province had been affected by the latest typhoon-induced rainstorms, with over 187,000 relocated to safer locations across the province, local authorities said. Since Aug. 2, 37 county-level regions in the province’s six cities have experienced strong winds, hail and flooding. Downpours have inflicted damage on more than 258,000 hectares of crops in the province, one of China’s major grain-production bases. About 23,708 houses have collapsed or been damaged, and 149 bridges have been damaged or destroyed in Heilongjiang during the period. In preparation for Typhoon Khanun, Shangzhi City in Heilongjiang has decided to suspend work, production, public transportation, businesses and schools from Thursday to Saturday, according to local authorities. Meanwhile, seven people died in Ya’an, Sichuan Province, on Wednesday morning after a sudden surge of river water, local authorities said. Mountain torrents also resulted in three deaths and two missing people in Jingtai County, Gansu Province, on Thursday. (SD-Xinhua) | 