300,000 without water as floods damage pipelines in China city

BEIJING - Floods caused by torrential rains damaged pipelines leaving 300,000 people without water in Tonghua city in China’s Jilin province, an official said Monday.

Wang Ruimin, head of the public utility bureau in Tonghua, said four water pipelines had been damaged since Sunday, cutting water supply to the whole city.

Wang said the bureau has mobilised 300 workers to repair the pipelines, but no deadline could be given as to when water supply would be resumed.

He said flood water had gushed into Tonghua’s water plant at the Changliu reservoir after a section of the embankment was breached Saturday.

Xinhua reported that authorities were working to ensure adequate supply of bottled water and food.

Tap water supply to some areas in Baishan city and Antu county had also been disrupted due to the floods.

Floods and rain-triggered landslides have left more than 100 people dead or missing in Jilin province over the past few days, provincial civil affairs officials said Sunday.

Jilin is the latest Chinese province hit by floods, after torrential rains lashed the area since Wednesday.

About 37,000 houses have collapsed and 125,000 others have been damaged while 592,000 residents have been evacuated, the provincial civil affairs department said in its latest disaster update Sunday.

The extent of damage caused by the floods became clear Monday as rescuers reached the worst-hit areas in the province.

In Huadian city, five villages, with some 14,100 inhabitants, were left in ruins after they were hit by water from a burst reservoir.

About four million cubic meters of water gushed out of the Dahe reservoir July 28, local officials said.

“I still remember the roar of the flood when it hit the village. It still haunts me,” said Wang Chunliang, a villager.

In Huadian, a total of 46 people were dead or missing as of Sunday night, according to official statistics.