China: Children cut off by floods in Sichuan province

By Fan Xiaowen, Sichuan programme manager

Weeks of heavy rain have led to severe flooding in China’s western Sichuan province. The area, which was badly affected by a 2008 earthquake, is now covered in floodwaters and faces the threat of worsening floods and landslides due to continuing heavy rains.

Last week Save the Children launched a response to provide relief to the worst-affected children and their families in Wenchuan and Bei Chuan counties.

At least 100,000 people have been completely cut off in these mountainous areas of Sichuan province.  Authorities reported that at least 68 people have died and 179 people are still missing.

The experience must be extremely frightening for young children who live in the area and who are now surrounded by strong swirling currents of floodwaters that have blocked roads and inundated homes.

The region’s most vulnerable children

These are some of the poorest and most vulnerable children in the region, many living without their parents who have moved to the cities to find work, leaving them in the care of their grandparents.

Save the Children, along with local partners, are working around the clock to respond to the needs of the families who have been hit hardest.

We’re supporting the government’s rescue and relief work by providing families with toiletries, towels, children’s clothes and other essential items.

Save the Children has been working in China for two decades and has responded to over 18 disasters in that time, including the 2010 Yushu earthquake and the earthquakes that hit Sichuan in 2008 and again in 2013, as well as the twin earthquakes in Yunnan Province in 2011.

We were able to respond promptly to this disaster because of our Emergency Fund, which makes money available without us having to wait for a specific fund-raising appeal at a point when time is absolutely vital. Please ensure we’re prepared to help children in the next crisis: donate now to our Emergency Fund