Over 100,000 people cut off by floods in seasonal flooding in Sichuan Province, China; Save the Children to respond to the needs of worst-affected families.

July 19^th 2013 (Chengdu, China) – Over 100,000 people have been cut off by flooding in the mountainous areas of Sichuan Province, China, Save the Children says. The children’s aid agency is now working to respond to the needs of worst-affected families with toiletries, towels, children’s clothes and other essential items.

Over the past few weeks, seasonal floods accentuated by tropical storms Soulik and Cimaron have affected over six million people in ten provinces across China. In Sichuan province, at least 68 people have died, 179 missing and over 159,000 hectares of agricultural land damaged.

“The area that has been cut off is home to some of the poorest and most vulnerable families in China,” said Wang Le, deputy country director for Save the Children in China. “We are especially concerned about children and their families whose homes have been inundated and need urgent relief. The situation is likely to worsen for affected families as more rain has been forecasted for the coming days.”

Chinese State Media, Xinhua News Agency, has reported that the losses have reached over US$3.26 billion. The Chinese government are now working with aid agencies and civil society organisations to provide relief to families caught up in the floods.

“Save the Children works closely with communities in that province. We are currently responding to the needs of children and their families who have been affected in the earthquake that struck Ya’an prefecture in April this year," said Wang Le. 

Save the Children has been working in China for two decades, responding to over 18 disasters in that time, such as the 2010 Yushu earthquake and 2008 and 2013 Sichuan earthquakes; and more recently the 2011 twin earthquakes in Yiliang and Zhaoyang Counties (Yunnan Province). Wenchuan and Bei Chuan counties, two of the worst affected areas in the floods were badly affected in the 2008 earthquake.

ENDS

Save the Children has spokespeople available for interviews. Please contact Wang Le at (+86) 186 1153 8922 or Le.Wang@savethechildren.org