China issues 'Red Alert' in five cities of Hubei as floods destroy 2,700 homes

A destructive natural calamity has struck five cities in the central Chinese province of Hubei further issuing a "red alert". Heavy rain has killed nearly 21 people and prompted the evacuation of over 6,000 others in the province. 

According to the state media, a huge number of people died as a result of being trapped in flooding subway cars, underground parking garages, and tunnels. The fatalities were reported in the Liulin township, which is part of the city of Suizhou in the province's northwestern corner. More than 2,700 homes and stores were flooded, according to Chinese official media. This has further affected the electricity supply, transportation as well as communications disruptions. 

According to China's Ministry of Emergency Management, several rescue crews have been deployed to the worst-affected areas, which include the cities of Suizhou, Xiangyang, and Xiaogan.  

On Thursday, Yicheng received a record 400 mm of rain.  As per the official of Xinhua news agency, roughly more than 774 reservoirs in Hubei have surpassed flood alert levels. The country has declared it as the worst floods in a decade which has caused huge devastation on the country, killing over 300 people and destroying hundreds of automobiles and houses. 

Worth of damage in the China flood 

This severe downpour has caused significant power outages in the province. It has caused serious damage to almost 3,600 buildings and 8,110 hectares of croplands. As per an official China Daily, on Friday the total damages from the China flood were estimated at 108 million yuan which is nearly $16.67 million, referencing the province's emergency management office. 

According to the insurer Goldman Sachs study, he claims that the floods resulted in $1.7 billion in compensation claims after thousands of automobiles and buildings were destroyed. Last Monday, the local administration announced that flood-related economic losses were more than $20.65 billion and vowed a speedy compensation. 

Earlier, last weekend, 80,000 people were evacuated in Sichuan, China's southern province, while record rains in Henan last month triggered floods that killed more than 300 people. Severe rainstorms are expected to last through the next week putting areas along the Yangtze River at risk of flooding, according to the China Meteorological Administration.  

Late Thursday, state weather forecasters issued a geological catastrophe alert, stating that regions at danger include Hubei, Hunan, Henan, and Anhui in the central provinces, Chongqing, Sichuan, and Guizhou in the southwest, and Zhejiang on the eastern shore. 

(Image Credit: AP)