Friday, July 23, 2010

Two people are dead and thousands of others lost their homes in southern China after Typhoon Chanthu. The Typhoon made landfall in the Guangdong province with winds that reached 126 kilometers per hour (78 miles per hour). The storm caused approximatively 2.2 billion yuan (US$325 million, €251 million) worth of damages.

Chanthu caused downpours in China’s southern provinces, with central and western provinces expected to flood as well. The Typhoon prompted President Hu Jintao to call for increased flood control measures. Chanthu is the latest in a string of recent violent storms followed by massive floods.

So far this year 701 people have been killed by flooding, the highest since 1998. Along with that 347 people are missing and presumed dead. Storms have also destroyed 27,160 houses and 101,000 hectares (250,000 acres) of farmland.