China: Typhoons leave 15 million homeless

Communities in south-eastern China are straining to resettle more than 15 million people left homeless by four devastating typhoons in the past few months, the official Xinhua News Agency reported today.

The storms caused direct damage costing 28.6bn yuan (€2.8m), Xinhua said, citing provincial officials in Fujian, the province worst hit by the disasters.

The most costly damage was to businesses, farms, communications networks and water conservation projects.

It said the central government had allocated only 60m yuan (€5.9m) in relief funds for Fujian and neighbouring Zhejiang province.

The most recent storm, Saomai, hit Fujian in mid-August, killing 441 people according to earlier reports. It was the worst storm since record-keeping began in 1949, according to the government.

Each summer brings catastrophic weather to China, usually in the form of torrential rains and tropical storms. This year, however, while coastal regions are rebuilding from floods and typhoons, many inland areas are enduring their worst drought in decades.