Flooding in Western China Kills 25
Copyright 2001 Associated Press
September 21, 2001
BEIJING (AP) - Flooding in western China has killed 25 people, destroyed houses and stranded more than 10,000 travelers, local officials and state media said Friday.
Torrential rains in Sichuan province on Tuesday and Wednesday left streets in the city of Jinyang under head-high waters, the Beijing Morning Post reported.
Train tracks were covered and transportation paralyzed, stranding more than 10,000 travelers in the city, the paper said.
Nevertheless, damage was less than it might have been because of recent flood-control efforts, said an official from the provincial disaster relief office. He asked not to be named.
China launched a massive program to replant stripped forests and build dikes after floods along the Yangtze River three years ago killed hundreds of people.