World Vision emergency teams distributed relief items to flood-affected people in southern China during the last week.

Residents of Anhua county in Hunan province, one of the hardest hit areas, received quilts and hygiene kits during distributions that commenced on the weekend.   Children received kits that contained toys, stationery and basic hygiene items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Distributions will continue in Hunan and Jiangxi provinces until the end of the month and will also include rice, providing a short term solution.

“Food is urgently needed. It is estimated that the affected communities will suffer from food shortages in the next two to three months,” said Victor Kan, World Vision China.  “Farmers were struck twice, first the drought and then the floods. Many of them are likely to face total crop failure this year.”

Crops have been washed away or damaged, cattle have drowned, and fishery facilities have been damaged, a blow to many peoples’ livelihoods.

“After the floods, all my crops in the field are dead. The fishes were also washed away. My house was ruined. Everything is gone… I don’t know what we can have for food in the coming months,” said Xu Sanmei, a villager who earns his livelihood from fish farming and crops.

Up to 80% of the paddy fields in Jingdezhen city of Jiangxi province were damaged by the torrential rains that have inundated southern China.  More than 200,000 people in that area are facing food shortages in the coming two to three months.

The floods follow a period of drought, adding to communities’ struggles.  With only approximately 13% of the country’s land suitable for cultivation, weather-related incidents have a huge impact on food production.

Looking past the immediate needs for the next 3 months, World Vision will also work with communities to provide a solution to longer-term food needs.  Livelihoods recovery, with a focus on agricultural, is an important component of the solution for communities who have been affected by drought and now floods.

Housing rehabilitation and Disaster Risk Reduction activities are also planned for the rehabilitation phase of World Vision’s emergency response. World Vision aims to assist more than 52,000 people in its response during the next 16 months.

Some 36.5 million people across 13 provinces have been affected and 1.64 million people have been displaced.  Hunan and Jiangxi are amongst the worst hit provinces, with 8.5 million and 3.1 million people affected respectively. Some 38,400 houses were damaged in these provinces.

Staff are in contact with World Vision assisted communities and there are no reports of casualties or injuries in child sponsorship programs.