14, Including Vice Mayor, Killed Due To Floods In Chinese City; Repairs Of Damaged Infra Starts

At least 14 individuals were killed in the City of Shulan following the onslaught of torrential rains in China in the previous weeks.

According to a report on The Independent, three government officials were included in the number of fatalities in Shulan, which is situated in China's north-eastern Jilin province.

Among the deaths was the city's vice mayor, the report said.

Damage, negative effects

Authorities said power in 14,305 residences had been affected but the energy supply has already been restored.

Furthermore, water levels in the affected areas have already receded to a safe level.

Meanwhile, authorities already began with the emergency response efforts to relocate the affected residents and to repair the damage infrastructures.

The Guardian report noted that thousands of officials have already been sent in the affected areas of Jilin as well as in the neighboring Heilongjiang in order to provide assistance when it comes to flood response measures, evacuation protocols, distribution of emergency supplies, and construction and rehabilitation of damaged roads.

Concerned officials have warned that in some parts of two major rivers in Heilongjiang and Jilin, the water levels had already surpassed the alert line.

There were already recovery and rehabilitation measures being conducted in the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang.

People were seen using their shovels to clear the muddy waters from their buildings.

Members of the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police were also putting sandbags placed along the rivers. These forces have also been in charged in repairing roads and distributing supplies in the provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin.

In total, more than 2,050 troops and over 5,000 personnel helped in the evacuation of more or less 3,000 civilians.

Channel News Asia reported that at least 10 individuals were also killed due to floods in Baoding, a city that is near Beijing.

Moreover, 18 individuals were reported to have been missing in the area.

Officials said that more than 600,000 of Baoding's 11.5 million residents had been evacuated from areas in order to ensure their safety.

Food security concerns

A CNN report said that in the northern portion of Heilongjiang, the rivers that irrigate its fertile farmlands overflowed and this results in the submerging of rice fields, the destruction of vegetable greenhouses and the damage of factories.

Authorities are also making assessment on the damage in villages and large areas of farmland after the City of Wuchang was submerged in floods.

Wuchang is considered as another major rice producing city in Heilongjiang.

Due to this, officials are concerned about the potential effect of the bad weather towards the global food security. These extreme weather events being experienced in China have brought threat to agricultural and food supplies.

Information showed that the three provinces, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, are producing more than one fifth of the country's grain output.

Authorities said the major crops being produced were soybeans, corn and rice.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs already issued stern warning that the heavy rainstorms brought by Typhoon Khanun and Typhoon Doksuri were expected to cause adverse effects on China's agricultural production.

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