Heavy rainstorms in
July caused the Huai River to flood in Anhui and Jiangsu provinces. The floods killed at
least 16 peo-ple and caused more than Yn18bn damage much at it when the authorities
opened the rivers' dykes in order to divert floodwater onto farmland and away from
industrial -. cities such as Bengbu and Huaman. This forced the evacuation of nearly
380,000 peo-ple in Anhui and ruined I .9m hectares of cropland. Officials have pledged to
compen-sate farmers for their losses. Further heavy -. rainhill in Jiangsu and Anhui in late
July caused water levels on the Huai to surge for a third time.
Also in July. torrential
nuns in Sichuan, Chongqing and Hubei sparked floods and landslides. A landslide in
Sichuan killed one and left 50 missine, while another in Chongqing killed 12 and injured
five others.