World Journal: Natural Disasters in Yunnan and Shandong Provinces
(Clearwisdom.net) According to the August 27, 2001 report from Yunnan as
reported in the World Journal, a super-large scale flood hit Funing
County of Yunnan Province on August 25. As of August 26, 12 deaths, 23
disappearances and another 72 injuries have been reported. The economic loss is
also very severe. Funing County is located in southeast Yunnan and is close to Guangxi Province
and the border between China and Vietnam. According to the Yunnan Daily News
report, around 2 a.m. on August 25, a sudden downpour hit Funing County and
nearby towns including Guichao and Dongbo. Within two hours, the amount of
rainfall reached 120 mm [about 4.7 inches]. The deluge led to a rapid
mountain torrent and a sharp rise of water level in all eight rivers in the
county. Later, the flood gushed toward the city area. Aside from causing
casualties and injuries, the flood also submerged over 500 houses, and damaged
and washed away over 100 vehicles. Bridges and interstate expressways were
destroyed and cut off. In some areas, electricity and communications were
interrupted. The flood also submerged crop fields and fish pools, which caused
serious losses. On the same day, the World Journal reports from Jinan City indicated 8
cities and 23 counties and districts in Shandong Province suffered from various
levels of hailstorms and gale force winds, which resulted in a direct economic
loss of over 1.3 billion Yuan [about US $162.5 million]. It was reported that on the morning of August 23, within one to two hours,
cities such as Rizhao, Jinan and Weifang in Shandong province were hit by
hailstorms and gales. Twenty-three counties, cities and districts including
Jiyang experienced serious losses. Witnesses said the larger hailstones were as big as eggs and the smaller ones
were the size of dates. The storm lasted for a long time, and was accompanied by
a thunderstorm [in addition to the hailstorm] and strong winds. The
rainfall averaged around 30 mm [about 1.2 inches]. Within a short time,
the wind-force reached level seven to eight and the layer of hail covering the
ground was as thick as 4~5 cm [about 1.6~2 inches]. Crops and commercial
plants in affected areas suffered terrible losses; most of the fruit tree
harvest was lost. Yellow cigar plants and cotton were hit and there were nothing
left but bare stumps. Lots of the corn broke in half and fell to the ground.
Many houses were destroyed and collapsed. According to a rough estimate, 84
people were injured and 6 died from this disaster. Rizhao City was most severely affected by the catastrophe. Throughout the
city, 41 streets were hit by the gale and hailstorm and 48,000 hectares [about
11,8519 acres] of crops were affected. Over 6,000 hectares [about 14,814
acres] of crop fields had zero harvest, 72,000 houses were damaged, and
24,000 houses collapsed. Sixty-three people were injured, including 6 who were
seriously wounded, and 6 died. The direct economic loss totaled nearly 400
million Yuan [about US $50 million].
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2001/8/28/15476.html
Yearly Archive
Printer Version
feedback@clearwisdom.net