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Topic: Floods kill over 1,200 in China so far this year (200 million affected)
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RaptureRH
Advanced Member
Member # 5120
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posted
Wednesday October 5, 11:42 PM
Two more mine accidents in China bring week's death toll nears 70
Two more mine accidents left at least 20 dead and 22 missing in China, state media said, continuing a black week for the industry, which has been rattled by four deadly disasters.
At least 10 miners were killed and 18 more were missing after a coal mine in southwest China flooded late Tuesday.
The tragedy, which happened at the Longtan Coal Mine in Sichuan province, coincided with 10 people being killed by an unknown gas at an illegal pit in northeast Liaoning province, Xinhua news agency reported.
So far this week, four mine disasters have claimed the lives of at least 68 workers and left 22 others missing.
Survivors are rarely found from the regular gas explosions that rock mines in China, but the chances of finding people alive in floods have proven to be marginally better.
Nine escaped from the molybdenum mine in the Gangtun township of Liaoning and were arrested, Xinhua said. Molybdenum is a silvery white metal used in making alloys and electrodes.
While much of China was shut down for the National Day holiday week, the unrelenting demand for coal to drive the country's booming economy and rapid industrialization forces many mines to remain open, around the clock.
It is the voracious demand that results in so many accidents, with safety procedures ignored in the quest for profits.
On Monday, 34 miners were killed and 19 injured in a gas explosion at a pit in the central province of Henan.
The mine was operated by a large state-run enterprise -- the Henan Hebi Coal company -- but even it ignored safety procedures, government officials admitted.
In a statement Wednesday, the National Bureau of Production Safety Supervision and Administration said problems existed in gas ventilation management and workplace management at the mine as well as production safety.
According to the bureau, the Henan mine was operating with outdated equipment.
It ordered the company, which had assets worth 4.6 billion yuan (567 million dollars) in 2004 and runs eight major mines with annual production at over seven million tons, to close all its pits to check safety equipment.
The demands follow an order from Premier Wen Jiabao on Tuesday for mine bosses to do more to prevent accidents.
His comments came after a gas blast in the northwest Xinjiang region at the privately-run Yateur mine, in which 14 workers died, according to Xinhua.
China relies on coal for two-thirds of its energy needs and is not expected to shift significantly to other fuel sources for years to come.
In an attempt to improve safety, China in August ordered 7,000 coal mines to suspend operations by the end of the year.
But critics argue that shutdowns only exacerbate coal shortages and force mines elsewhere to increase capacity at the expense of safety.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/051005/1/3vg02.html
Posts: 163 | From: Houston TX | Registered: Sep 2005
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RaptureRH
Advanced Member
Member # 5120
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posted
These statistics out of China seem to dwarf the impact of Katrina and Rita - e.g. numbers of affected and homes lost, etc?
Posts: 163 | From: Houston TX | Registered: Sep 2005
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RaptureRH
Advanced Member
Member # 5120
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posted
Friday October 7, 4:10 PM
Floods kill over 1,200 in China so far this year (200 million affected)
Floods and landslides have killed 1,247 people and left another 331 missing in China so far this year.
They have affected 201 million people -- around one sixth of the population, Xinhua news agency reported citing statistics from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
So far, crops on over 15 million hectares (37.05 million acres) of farmland have been destroyed and 1.17 million houses ruined.
Direct economic damage was estimated at 136 billion yuan (16.8 billion dollars).
Particularly hit was southern and southeastern China, which have been hit by seven typhoons or cyclones that claimed 190 lives in that region alone, it said.
The figures were released as southeastern China recovered from Typhoon Longwang, which left at 65 people dead, 50 of them police cadets swept away in a landslide in Fujian province.
Floods have always been part of life in China, although officials have said this year has been more devastating than usual.
Since serious flooding of the Yangtze River in 1998, China has spent billions of dollars on flood mitigation.
Major rivers have been brought under greater control and early warning systems have been put in place, but flash floods and landslides caused by unprecedented rains continue to cause major damage.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/051007/1/3vhp7.html
Posts: 163 | From: Houston TX | Registered: Sep 2005
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