DAZHOU, Sichuan Province, Sept. 11, 2004-- The death toll from heavy floods in Dazhou city of Sichuan Province has risen to 70 and 10 people remain missing, an official with the city government said Saturday.
Rescuers are still searching for the missing people while helping evacuate 14,000 residents stranded in floodwater, mainly in the towns of Tiantai and Wubao.
Most of the 3,000 people injured in the floods have been released from hospital, said the official without giving his name.
"We have cleaned dirty streets and medical workers have disinfected the flooded areas. Life in urban areas has largely returned to normal, but those in rural areas need more help to rebuild their houses and get enough food and drinking water," he said.
Dazhou city, in northeastern Sichuan and 450 kilometers from the provincial capital Chengdu, was one of the worst hit areas by heavy rainstorms that ravaged southwest China between Sept. 2 and 5. The water level of Zhouhe River, which runs through the city's downtown area, rose by 18.7 meters to 285.7 meters, two meters higher than what was reported during the worst flood in its history in 1982.
The local government has evacuated 235,000 residents stranded in floodwater.
Officials said that disrupted communication added difficulty to their efforts to gather statistics on the death tolls and damage.
Earlier reports said that as of Friday afternoon, the death toll in Chongqing municipality, 200 kilometers from Dazhou city, had risen to 82, with 20 others missing.
