The torrential rains that have hit the megalopolis of Chongqing in southwestern China since the start of the week have left at least fifteen dead, four missing and extensive damage.
With our correspondent in Beijing, Stephane Lagarde
As with every disaster, dramatic music accompanies the local media images : torrents of mud where red water rushes down the streets and devastates everything in its path. The Wanzhou district in Chongqing was hit by heavy rains on July 4, along with 36 surrounding towns and villages.
The flood damaged the pillars of a railway bridge in Yubishan which partially collapsed, witnesses said in videos posted on the Weibo network.
Nearly 30 billion euros in losses
In total, nearly 12,000 people were evacuated, nearly 600 hectares of crops were devastated, 138 homes damaged. Orange vests, fatigues, the soldiers of the people’s liberation army, sometimes with water up to their waists, are alongside the inhabitants to repair the damage, underline official media.
Sign of the importance of the direct economic losses estimated at some 230 billion yuan (nearly 30 billion euros), the head of state Xi Jinping ordered that priority be given to the safety of people and property. . The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Funds on Wednesday released a relief fund of more than 320 million yuan (40 million euros) to help Chongqing, but also the neighboring province of Sichuan or more than 460,000 people have been affected by the bad weather since the beginning of the week, as well as 16 other affected provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.
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