Details of Disaster Information


China : Flood : 1999/07
GLIDE:   DRR & Disaster Information

Duration 1999/07
Country
   or
District
China
Name Flood
Outline The last ten days in June 1999 it has been raining heavily in the areas along the Yangtze River. And, floods has occured. The floods affected the provinces of Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, Jiangxi and Hunan.Flooding has killed at least 291 people and threatened the lives of 60 million local people.

Headline(Source, Date)
Personal Injury Material Damage Others
International Federation of Red Cross Report 1999/08/04
60 million people are affected. It has left 240 people dead and over 24,000 injured. In addition, over 1.8 million people have had to be evacuated to safer areas. An estimated 482,000 rooms have collapsed. The combined effect of food, sanitation materials and water purification tablets had a major impact on reducing morbidity and mortality during previous floods.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) 1999/07/15
In nearby Qinghai province, 27 people died and 100,000 were made homeless during flooding in June. Some 3.9 million dollars in direct economic losses were incurred in just one day, while 13,000 head of livestock and poultry perished.


Summer floods kill 240:DPA 1999/07/14
Some 1.8 million people had been evacuated and more than 3,000 people were reported injured after structures collapsed. The deluge had affected 3.5 million hectares of cultivated land and destroyed 660,000 hectares of crops.
Floods kill 31 people in Southwest China province:Xinhua (1999/07/26)
Foods and landslides in neighboring Sichuan Province have killed 26 people since July and have affected the lives of 1.79 million others. The heavy rains that have hit Yunnan Province have affected some 26,700 ha. of farmland and disrupted water and electricity supplies and telecommunications in some counties.
Xinhua (1999/07/16)Flood ravages central China province
The floods affected 10 million people. The floods toppled over 70,000 residential houses, destroyed over 72,000 ha of farmland, and caused direct economic losses totaling 3.1 billion yuan.
IFRC (1999/07/13) China Floods Information Bulletin No. 1
The torrential rainfall has affected some 59.4 million people and killed 240 people. A further 3,055 are reported to have been injured.
In addition, 1.84 million people have had to be evacuated to safer areas.
An estimated 482,000 rooms have collapsed and 1.67 million have been severely damaged.
In terms of agricultural losses, the flooding has affected some 3.5 million hectares of cultivated land. Of this, a total 660,000 hectares of crops have been completely lost.

Agence France-Presse (1999/07/12) Central China floods inflict multi-million dollar damage in month
A total of 240 people had died in flooding by last week. Floods inundated 1.13 million hectares of farmland, causing a grain output loss of 880,000 tonnes, while more than 2,000 companies were forced to halt or limit production. The inundation damaged nearly 100,000 houses and toppled 34,000, adding that 5,200 head of livestock had perished.
Agence France-Presse (1999/07/09) East recovers from torrential rains as flood peaks in central China

Flooded fields spread lake-like into the distance with only the tops of telephone poles and half-merged homes betraying the disaster.
China - Floods OCHA Situation Report No. 1 (1999/07/07)
The floods affected 59.396 million people and killed 240 persons. 1.84 million people have been evacuated. 482,000 housing units collapsed and 1.67 million have been severely damaged. In total, 35 million hectares of cultivated land have been affected and 660,000 thousand hectares of crops were lost. The direct economic losses are estimated at approximately USD 2.22 billion.
Agence France-Presse (1999/07/06) Yangtze floods kill 240, destroy 480,000 homes
A total of 480,000 homes had been washed away, while another 1.67 million had sustained heavy damage.
Some 1.84 million people have been evacuated from affected areas
660,000 hectares (1.6 million acres) of crops were destroyed.
Agence France-Presse (1999/06/30) At least two dead, 100,000 trapped by floods in central China

More than 1,800 buildings collapsed in Xianning city in Hubei province as floods hit after a week-long deluge, causing losses of 48.4 million US dollars.
Landslides hit the Xianning stretch of the railway linking Beijing.


Related Links
Report/Articles
  • International Federation of Red Cross Report 1999/8/4
    The Red Cross society of China seeks to provide immediate assistance in the form of safe water for one million people, for a 30-day period, a 30-day complementary food ration for 250,000 people and basic sanitation supplies for sanitation teams covering the needs of one million people.
  • Relief Web

  • OCHA Situation Report No. 2 1999/07/27

  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 1999/07/27
    Some 770,000 people in Ziyang district in the central Chinese province of Hunan have been evacuated after a secondary dyke collapsed following heavy rains.
  • Xinhua 1999/07/27
    Water levels at the Jiujiang section of the Yangtze River and at Poyang Lake in east China's Jiangxi Province has been dropping in the last two days.
  • Xinhua (1999/07/26)
    The heavy rains that have hit China's Yunnan Province have caused floods that have killed 31 people and affected more than 400,000 people in the northeastern part.
  • Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1999/07/26)
    Death toll in Yangtze flooding in southwest China rises to 300.
  • CNN 1999/07/24
    Flood crests burst a dike along the Yangtze River in central China, forcing the evacuation of 120,000 people from low-lying areas.
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 1999/07/23
    Some 350,000 people living in the vicinity of "dangerous dykes" have been evacuated to safety as the Yangtze river's third flood peak of the year surged towards an industrial metropolis in central China.
  • Xinhua 1999/07/23
    This year's severe flood peak on the Yangtze River passed Yueyang City, in central China's Hunan Province, without mishap.
  • IFRC 1999/07/22

  • Xinhua 1999/07/21(No.2)
    Flooding caused by heavy rainfall at the sources of the Yangtze and Lancang rivers this summer has claimed the lives of 4 people and damaged 1,500 houses and seven bridges in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province.
  • Reuters 1999/07/21
    The Chinese central provinces of Hubei, Anhui and Hunan have declared flood alerts along the Yangtze after the country's longest river rose above danger levels.
  • Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) 1999/07/21
    More than 47-thousand people have been evacuated from central China's Hubei province.
  • Xinhua 1999/07/21
    Hubei Province is calling for all-out efforts in fighting the current floods, although the major part of the flood waters has already passed without mishap through the most dangerous section of the Yangtze here.
  • Xinhua 1999/07/20(No.2)
    The third flood peak of the Yangtze River passed Yichang, a major city in central China's Hubei Province.
  • Xinhua 1999/07/20
    20, 000 residents of the Paizhouwan Flood Diversion Zone in central China's Hubei Province, had been evacuated to safety, in preparation for a possible diversion of flood waters.
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 1999/07/20
    China has declared a state of emergency in two of its flood-ravaged provinces, as several dykes on the Yangtze river burst.
  • CNN 1999/07/15
    China's Zhu urges local authorities along the Yangtze river to prepare for Yangtze floods.
  • Agence France-Presse (1999/07/19)
    China fears floods on a scale of last year's disaster
  • Xinhua 1999/07/16
    As of July 10, 37 people had died in the floods ravaging central China's Hunan Province.
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 1999/07/15
    Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has warned China to brace itself for another season of flooding along the Yangtze river.
  • Xinhua 1999/07/15
    The second flood crest of the Yangtze River, China's longest, has haunted Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province for more than four days.
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 1999/07/15
    Twenty-four hours of torrential rain in parts of northwest China have left two dead and two missing.
  • Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) 1999/07/14
    Tens of thousands of tourists stranded in the flood-stricken Three Gorges Dam area, have been moved to safety.
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 1999/07/14
    Many of the 1.84 million people driven from their homes by the first onslaught of summer flooding along China's Yangtze river are now camped in makeshift camps and shelters.
  • Xinhua 1999/07/14(No.2)
    Chinese meteorologists are blaming the caprice of La Nina for causing uncertainty in their flood forecasts for the Yangtze River.
  • Xinhua 1999/07/14
    Hunan Province has kept in reserve 30 million yuan worth of medicines, necessary medical equipment and funds in preparation for this year's flood control efforts.
  • Deutsche Presse Agentur 1999/07/14
    China's summer floods have killed at least 240 people and are threatening 60 million across the country's south and east.
  • Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) 1999/07/14
    Tens of thousands of tourists rescued from China floods.
  • IFRC 1999/07/13
    The Chinese Government has taken action not only to evacuate the victims, but also to cover their most pressing basic needs. Tents have been released from government storage facilities in Anhui and Hubei provinces to provide shelter for the most vulnerable groups.
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 1999/07/12
    Disastrous flooding in China's central Hubei province has left 36 dead and caused economic losses of more than 554 million dollars in less than one month.
  • Oxfam 1999/07/12
    The local governments have been handling the first stage of relief operation "efficiently and effectively" and have not seen a need for external assistance yet.
  • Xinhua 1999/07/10(No.2)
    The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Finance have allocated 102 million yuan and 9,300 tents to 11 provinces and ethnic autonomous regions affected by the summer floods.
  • Xinhua 1999/07/10(No.1)
    The U.N. Environment Program (UNEP) has promised to offer further technical assistance to China in combating the current flood which hit the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 1999/07/09
    While the season's second flood peak surged through central China Friday, the Yangtze threat remained low in eastern Anhui province as farmers struggled to restore life to their villages.
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 1999/07/09
    Water levels on a second "potentially dangerous" flood peak on China's Yangtze river have exceeded warning levels for the first time this year.
  • Agence France-Presse (AFP) 1999/07/08
    This season's first build-up of floodwater on China's Yangtze River has passed the central industrial city of Wuhan, sending more water towards the waterlogged eastern provinces.
  • OCHA Situation Report No. 1 (1999/07/07)
    The Chinese Government has taken a series of effective measures to evacuate the affected population and to reduce the human and economic losses caused by floods to the minimum level.
  • Agence France-Presse (1999/07/07)
    Authorities in China moved to tackle a corruption scandal which diverted millions of dollars in flood prevention funds into property and the stock market.
  • Agence France-Presse (1999/07/06)
    Severe flooding along China's Yangtze River has killed 240 people, destroyed nearly half a million homes and caused billions of dollars in economic losses in the past few weeks.
  • Reuters (1999/07/05)
    Floods have killed at least 152 people in central and eastern China in the past week.
  • Agence France-Presse 1999/06/30
    At least two people have been killed and 100,000 trapped by rising floodwaters after days of heavy rain in central and southern China.
Emergency Relief Information
  • International Federation of Red Cross Report 1999/8/4
    The CRCS HQ has organised a national ‘hot line’ to allow the public to pledge donations over the phone. A new bank account has been opened to receive donations. Information about the disaster relief work and donations can be obtained from the CRCS hotline: 0810 - 65139999 and its website: http//www.chineseredcross.org.cn.
  • IFRC 1999/07/13
    Red Cross medical teams have been mobilised and sent to the affected areas to provide medical assistance and supply water purification tablets and sanitation materials to ensure safe water supplies and prevent the outbreak of waterborne diseases.