Plan to help children impacted by China floods

Rescue workers use boats to access people affected by floods in China. Picture: Reuters/Aly Song www.alertnet.org

Plan International staff are set to help vulnerable children stranded by China's worst floods in recent history.

Nearly 30 million people have been affected across the south of the country; weeks of heavy rain has swamped 10 provinces.

Plan will be providing food and clothing for affected children, along with longer-term rebuilding projects.

“The risks now are of epidemic disease outbreak and shortages of food and drinking water,” says Plan China's country director Mark Leighton. “Longer-term concerns about food security and rebuilding livelihoods and infrastructure remain.”

The official death toll stands at 215 confirmed dead with a further 123 people missing.

Plan staff are working with partners in the worst affected area of Jiangxi as government resources become stretched.

The provincial government of Jiangxi is leading the recovery effort after a dyke in the Fu river burst, resulting in the evacuation of 20,000 people.

The Chinese government's response has included health protection, road repairs and rescue equipment.

Plan staff are attending disaster co-ordination meetings, while carrying out a child-centred situation analysis and disaster response assessment.

“We're monitoring the unfolding situation via local partners and we're informed that need still exists in pockets where government provision is stretched thin,” says Mr Leighton.

Find out more about Plan's work in China.