China Flooding Update from World Vision

Hong Kong, China, July 12, 2009 --(PR.com)-- "Seasonal floods often have hidden effects on children. We must not grow accustomed to the fact that floods force children to evacuate their homes, affect school attendance, and erode family income," said World Vision’s regional vice president Watt Santatiwat.

"In southern China, an overwhelming amount of people have seen their homes damaged or destroyed by landslides or floods. Roads have washed away making it unsafe for children to travel to school. Hundreds of thousands of people have evacuated into temporary shelter s and are in need of food and safe drinking water," said Santatiwat.

Early reports from Du'an County, Guangxi say many townships and villages suffered crop damage in low lying areas but schools, homes, roads and basic infrastructure remain undamaged. World Vision will launch a response according to the scale of needs as determined by the assessment.

In response to the floods in southern China that have affected 39 million people across 12 provinces and regions, and Jiangxi provinces where World Vision has a total of nine development program offices in and near the flood zone. The humanitarian organization has so far confirmed that its Du'an development program in Guangxi has been impacted, and is most concerned about the flooding's effect on children.

World Vision regularly responds to emergencies in China, including the 2008 Sichuan earthquake quake, floods in eastern and southern China, and the 2008 winter snowtorms that hit 21 provinces. The organization also helps communities across China prepare for disasters, by helping communities identify risks and ways to avoid them, as well as teaching children how to protect themselves in disasters through cartoon books and in-school disaster preparedness training.

World Vision has sent two assessment teams to Guangxi.

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