August 29, 1998 - CNN -
(CNN) -- Floodwaters are continuing to cause misery in China, India, Japan and Bangladesh, as Asia's summer of flooding continues.
In China, authorities have told millions of soldiers and civilians to brace for another flood crest -- the eighth this year -- along the Yangtze River, which has seen its worst flooding in 44 years.
The new surge of water along the Yangtze followed rains in the river's upper tributaries. Officials said the high waters could seriously test dikes already weakened by previous high water.
More than 3,000 people have died and millions have been left homeless in two months of flooding along the Yangtze in central China, and in a separate area of northeast China.
In the northeast Saturday, officials blew up a dike in an attempt to drain floodwaters threatening the country's largest oil field back into the Songhua River. The river's level had begun to fall, and falling temperatures threatened to freeze the water.
Flooding has affected 40 of Tibet's more than 70 counties, killing at least 53 people and destroying 2,000 houses. Soldiers and civilians are fortifying dikes as water levels on major rivers continue to
set records.
In India, army troops evacuated thousands of people to higher ground Saturday in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where at least 800 people have died and more than a million have been marooned
by high water. At least 135,000 people have been evacuated.
The army was using about 6,000 boats to deliver food to flood-stricken towns in India's most populous state.
Naresh Dayal, a senior state official, said highways and railroads in much of eastern Uttar Pradesh have cracked under the deluge.
In the Indian states of Bihar and West Bengal, at least 224 have died and nearly 12 million people have been affected.
In Japan, recent heavy rains, spurred on by the approach of Typhoon Rex, have triggered more than 600 mudslides that have destroyed more than 8,000 homes. At least 14 people have died since Thursday.
Authorities are still looking for possible survivors of Thursday's mudslide in Nishigo, about 180 kilometers north of Tokyo, which killed five people at a home for the handicapped. At least four
others are still missing.
Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi visited some of the areas hardest hit by flooding on Saturday. He was shown on nationwide TV news shaking hands with people who had fled their homes and telling them, "Keep strong."
By midday Saturday, Typhoon Rex, packing winds of 126 kilometers per hour (80 mph) was 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Tokyo, moving to the northeast. It is expected to make landfall late in the weekend or during the first part of next week.
In Bangladesh, torrential rain is causing some of the worst floods on record. Latest indications are that parts of the capital, Dhaka, are sinking deeper under water.
Authorities says the floods have killed as many as 600 people and left more than 30 million homeless.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has appealed for $600 million in international aid to help flood victims immediately.
Forecasters said Saturday that floodwaters were unlikely to recede over the next 15 days and could get worse in some districts, including Dhaka.
|
