Continuous downpours have triggered floods and left one person dead and 15 others missing in southwest China's Guizhou Province, the province's civil affairs bureau said on Monday. The heavy rains, which have struck parts of Guizhou since June 3, have impacted 200,000 people in the province and forced the evacuation of more than 60,000 residents, Xinhua quoted the bureau as saying. The rains have also damaged 9,383 hectares of farmland and resulted in direct economic losses of 170 million yuan (26.23 million U.S. dollars). Water levels on the Wangmo River in Guizhou's Wangmo County were more than 3 meters higher than the recommended safe level during the rains, which lasted from 8 a.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday, resulting in massive floods and an evacuation of some 6,000 residents. Water levels dropped back down to a safe range on Monday morning. The National Commission for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) and the Ministry of Civil Affairs jointly initiated an emergency response plan Monday afternoon to cope with the floods. One hundred tents, 2,000 quilts and 3,000 sets of clothes have been sent to the region to help residents stay warm and dry during the floods. The central government also sent a special work team to Guizhou on Monday to direct local flood relief work.
