PDC Updates | Jul 7, 2009

Voice of America quoted an official of China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs saying on Monday that “as many as 75 people have died” and that “flooding has affected 40 million people so far in 12 provinces. Nearly a million people have been forced from their homes. The water has destroyed more than 100,000 houses, and damaged roads and crops in the Guangxi region, as well as Fujian, Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces.” What’s more, the National Meteorological Center said, “the heavy rain in China’s southern regions is expected to continue through Wednesday. And despite the rain, many parts of the south can expect to experience temperatures above 35 degrees, adding to the misery of the victims.” Various reports on Tuesday estimated that at least 550,000 in China were displaced by the floods there, and the rain had not yet stopped. By Tuesday morning, China Daily placed the number “uprooted” at 938,000.

Soldiers in Guangxi
Soldiers wade in the mud to clear rubbish Monday in Liuzhou city, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, China. (Image source: China Daily)

China is not alone in its battle against heavy rain and consequent flooding and landslides.

BBC News, reporting from Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), said on Tuesday that Assam, a north-eastern state of India, was bracing for a worsening situation due to “incessant rain in the Himalayas.” The report went on to say that rescuers were—as of midday Tuesday, local time—on their way to “Majuli, the world's largest inhabited river island, [where] a breach in the embankment left more than 100,000 people stranded.” Meanwhile, although the monsoon storms that plague India from June through September annually come as no surprise, this year, “when floodwaters breached river banks, vast tracts of arable land became submerged affecting more than 100,000 hectares of crops.” Reports date-lined Tuesday, India time, placed the number of persons displaced or stranded at 500,000 plus.

Flooding hazard
Officials blamed the latest flooding on incessant rain in the Himalayas, but whatever the source, flooding is an often deadly fact of life in some parts of Asia. (Image source: AP via BBC)
In a neighboring area, on July 4 alone, as Reported by Reuters News Service, “Torrential rains triggered landslides and flash floods killing six people and stranding half a million in their homes in Bangladesh.” The rain was still falling on Tuesday.

At the same time, BBC News reported from Vietnam that several northern provinces were experiencing severe flooding. Just before 10 p.m. Monday night, at least 20 people had died in the floods. The drenching rains in Bac Kan and other provincial areas north and west of Hanoi began on Friday and continued in most areas into Tuesday. The report quotes a government official press release which states that, “Landslides and floods cut off roads, telecommunications and power supply in some areas, and fields of rice, corn and cassava were damaged.” Later reports out of Vietnam place the death toll at 28 with a growing number of people listed as missing.

While the effects of the floods in Asia at this time are more extreme, flooding in North America has been widespread over the weekend and up to today, Tuesday, July 7, too. Officials in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, according to USA Today “estimate Red River flood damage in the province at more than $40 million.” An unusual series of circumstances led to the development of ice dams in the rivers, resulting in the flooding.

Ice in Red River floodway channel
Crews were photographed working to break up ice that flowed into a Red River floodway channel in April. By July, the ice outpaced mitigation efforts and created flood-causing dams in the river and floodways. (Image source: Bert Savard for CBC)

Iowa, North Dakota, North Carolina and Wyoming are all also dealing with damaging floods or, in places where the weather has cleared, dealing with the effects of flooding. In some cases—like Casper, Wyoming—the rain came quickly and produced flash flooding. In fact, the storm in Wyoming delivered “2.25 inches of rain with winds up to 65 mph,” according to a Wyoming Star-Tribune article published Tuesday.

There are, so far, no deaths associated with storms, floods and landslides in North America over the past few days, but the losses have mounted into tens of millions. Even in Casper, a city of only about 50,000, according to firefighter Patrick McJunkin, “We’re certainly into the millions of dollars total.”

Notional governments and international aid are beginning to reach those most severely affected in most flooded areas. Also, the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” has been activated to provide space-based imagery to support Vietnam’s disaster managers.

These PDC resources will help you understand, and be prepared for flooding:

The following resources may help you get a realistic picture of the flood disasters:

  • The Voice of America article quoted above.
  • The BBC article about Assam quoted above and the article about Vietnam.
  • The USA Today article about Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
  • The Star-Tribune article about Casper, Wyoming.
  • The Reuters News Service report cited above.
  • The China Daily article published with the Guangxi photo here.
  • The CBC News online coverage that includes the ice-removal image above.
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