Communication, power resume in rain-soaked Chinese city

Changsha, Aug 2 (IANS) Communication and power supplies have largely resumed in central China's Zixing, where typhoon-induced heavy rains have left 30 people dead and 35 missing, authorities said Friday morning.

Following rainstorms unleashed by Typhoon Gaemi, power supplies were knocked out in 149 villages and communication was cut in 78 villages in Zixing, a county-level city in Hunan Province, said Kan Baoyong, the mayor of Chenzhou City that administers Zixing, at a press conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

The intense rain, with maximum precipitation exceeding 673 mm, has wrought "enormous damages" in Zixing, toppling 1,641 houses and causing 1,345 road collapses, according to the official.

A total of 118,000 residents have been affected, including 13,033 who were evacuated, while about 13,800 hectares of crops were damaged, including 5,000 hectares that were destroyed, Kan said, adding that the assessment has not been completed.

Rescue efforts have faced significant challenges due to the mountainous terrain and dense forests, which have made it difficult for rescuers to access the hardest-hit areas, according to officials.

Rescue personnel had to reach certain areas on foot, and some locations relied on air-dropped supplies, said Cao Zhongsheng, deputy director of Chenzhou's emergency management bureau.

China's National Disaster Reduction Commission on Thursday raised the emergency response to Level II, the second-highest in the four-tier warning system, in Hunan as floods continue to batter the province.

As of Thursday morning, heavy rainfall had affected over 1.2 million residents in Hunan.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday called for all-out efforts to ensure effective flood-control and disaster-relief work during his visit to disaster-affected residents and inspection of flood-control work in Chenzhou.