Chinese officials concealed last year's flood death toll: Report

Chinese officials have concealed the number of people who died or went missing in last year's devastating flood disaster in the country's various provinces, media reported citing the government.

According to The Wall Street Journal, local officials in Henan either concealed or delayed the recording of more than 100 cases of people who died or went missing, with some officials "intentionally obstructing" the reports, the State Council, China's highest government body, said in a statement posted on the main government website on Friday.

It said a number of officials would face disciplinary consequences, it added.

Record-breaking rainstorms hit Henan province in central China between July 17 and 23, overflowing reservoirs, breaching riverbanks, and overwhelming public transport systems and roads in major cities. In the city of Zhengzhou, more than 600mm of rain, equivalent almost to an average year, fell in just three days, flooding metro stations and a cross-city tunnel.

Reports show that as many as 590 people died or went missing in China, from January to October last year due to flood-related disasters which affected 58.9 million people in the country, China's Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) has said.

According to the Chinese news agency, Xinhua, more than 17,000 houses were collapsed due to severe rainfall in Shanxi province.

Xinhua reported that more than 9,54,000 people have been affected by floods in Guizhou province in southwest China following torrential rains. The average rainfall in Guizhou this year registered 615.5 mm, 5.6 per cent more than the same periods in previous years.

Since the flood season, six regional rainstorms had hit the province, with an average precipitation of 433.8 mm, up 10.6 per cent compared with the same periods in the past years, according to the provincial emergency management department.

( With inputs from ANI )

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