Torrential rains are causing some of the worst flooding to hit China in years, the latest in a series of disasters to afflict this country in a year that was supposed to be dominated by its triumphant hosting of the Summer Olympics.
Nearly 60 people had been confirmed dead in the flooding as of Monday, the government said. Rains are forecast to continue at least through Thursday in much of the area of nine affected provinces in southern and eastern China.
The flooding follows last month‘s devastating earthquake in Sichuan province, which has left more than 86,000 people dead or missing, and before that, in January, the worst winter storms the country had seen in 50 years. In March, meanwhile, riots in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa triggered the biggest challenge to Chinese control in that giant western territory in 20 years. Beijing‘s tough response prompted protests abroad that caused chaos during the Olympic torch relay through several Western cities.
The series of setbacks is creating a sense of gloom among many Chinese less than two months before the highly anticipated Beijing Games, and prompting some to say that what was supposed to be an auspicious year is instead bringing bad luck.
People in China ‘have been suffering a lot in 2008,‘ said Liu Wen, a Beijing travel agent. ‘China is the center of attention in this world, but for very bad reasons. I am very depressed about this.‘
Excitement has been high for the Olympics, which are set to kick off at 8:08 p.m. on Aug. 8 -- eight being an auspicious number in China. There has been huge demand for tickets for Olympic events, and a series of ‘Good Luck Beijing‘ sports events held around Beijing‘s Olympic venues in recent weeks to fuel enthusiasm. But with 52 days before the opening ceremony, the series of natural and political disasters is threatening to damp some of that ardor.
The disasters are fueling superstitious theories among some of the country‘s citizens. On the Internet, some have gone so far as to suggest that Beijing‘s five Olympic mascots, the ‘Fuwa‘ (Chinese for ‘fortunate children‘) have brought doom to China rather than fortune. Many Chinese bloggers now refer to the characters as Wuwa, where ‘Wu‘ means witch in Chinese.
Under this notion, each of the five characters represents an element of disaster: Beibei, the blue fish-like Fuwa, is said to symbolize the current floods. Panda-inspired Jingjing represents the earthquake in Sichuan, home to China‘s main panda reserves. Yingying, inspired by the Tibetan antelope, represents the unrest in Lhasa. Flame-headed Huanhuan represents the protests during the torch relay. And Nini, who wears a headdress that looks like a kite, is said to represent a major train crash in April in an eastern city known for its kites.
Meanwhile, China‘s government is working hard to contain the damage from the flooding, which followed torrential rains that began June 6. Authorities have evacuated 1.27 million people from danger zones in nine provinces, including economic giants Guangdong in the south and Zhejiang in the east, China‘s state-run Xinhua news agency said Monday. At least 57 people have died, and the floods and related landslides have caused millions of dollars in losses from damaged crops and toppled homes.
In the province of Hubei, weather authorities said the storms were the worst in that area in five decades.
Chinese government meteorologists said heavy rains will continue to hit China‘s southern region through Thursday. The continued rain ‘would make the situation of lakes, rivers and reservoirs more dangerous,‘ as reservoirs have already exceeded warning levels, said He Lifu, lead meteorologist at the forecast information office of the Central Meteorological Observatory.
Loretta Chao
