China allocates millions in new disaster relief after storms and a deadly landslide

BEIJING (AP) — China allocated millions of dollars in additional relief funding for disaster-hit areas Wednesday after severe storms destroyed homes and displaced thousands of people and a landslide killed 21 forestry workers.

The central government allocated 50 million yuan ($7.4 million) to restore roads, schools and other facilities in central China’s Hubei province and another 20 million yuan to help rebuild homes and resettle residents there, state media said. Eleven people died and hundreds were injured Monday night in violent thunderstorms and rare tornadoes.

The government also allocated 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) to Gansu province, where the landslide buried the forestry workers.

The money came on top of 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) allocated earlier for schools, hospitals, transport and other infrastructure in southern China’s Guangxi region, where severe flooding inundated cities and stranded residents after heavier-than-expected rainfall from a tropical storm.

Lu Xiaofei, who works in Shenzhen, a tech hub near Hong Kong, said her brother’s family was stuck at his house in Lu village in Qintang district. His brother was with his wife, his 9-month-old baby, their parents and grandfather.

“The water in the house is over one person’s height. They have to all move to the second floor. The power has been out since yesterday morning, and now they don’t have running water, either,” Lu told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Lu said her brother told her that the water level rose last night and their situation was so dire that drinkable water would be running out soon, and local authorities had not reached out to them. Many villagers nearby were facing the same challenges, she said.

Others called for help on social media, showing videos of their flooded surroundings and highlighting their lack of resources.

Reservoirs were breached or burst after Tropical Storm Maysak hit Guangxi, sending torrents of water into towns and cities. Six people were reported dead and about 130,000 have been evacuated. More than 8,000 people and about 5,700 boats have been deployed in the rescue operation, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Unconfirmed local media reports said hundreds of snakes had escaped breeding facilities after being washed away. State broadcaster CCTV reported snakes in the water and gave advice on what to do if bitten, but didn’t say where the snakes had come from.

Heavy rain has been battering parts of Guangxi since last Saturday, with cumulative rainfall of 10 to 40 centimeters (4 to 16 inches) in some areas and more than 90 centimeters (35 inches) in hard-hit areas, the national meteorological center said.

Another storm, Super Typhoon Bavi, is forecast to hit southeastern China over the weekend. In Taiwan, some farmers rushed to harvest their rice ahead of the storm, which was expected late Friday.

Elsewhere in Asia, severe weather also caused deaths. Landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in southeastern Bangladesh killed several Rohingya refugees, including five children. Heavy monsoon rains battered parts of neighboring India, leaving over a dozen of people dead over the past few days.

AP writer Fu Ting in Washington contributed to this story.