Thousands evacuated as rainstorm hit eastern China

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - Rainstorms in eastern China's Anhui province forced the evacuation of 195,000 people, Chinese media reported on Monday.

The storms, which affected 811,000 residents, caused major disruptions in 35 counties and districts across six prefecture-level cities in Anhui, forcing thousands of people to flee the region on Sunday, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

The torrential rains also caused 20 rivers, including China's longest, the Yangtze, to exceed warning levels in their Anhui sections.

Hundreds of relief teams have been deployed to the region to help those affected by the disaster and to respond quickly to possible further flooding.

On Friday, the Chinese Water Resources Ministry raised the flood emergency to level 3 for Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan provinces.

Earlier on Sunday, the Ministry of Finance announced that the central government has allocated an additional 45 million yuan (about $6.31 million) to repair flood-damaged roads, on top of the 105 million yuan previously allocated.