Floods force rescheduling of tests

THE national college entrance examination starting yesterday did not proceed as scheduled in Shexian County, east China’s Anhui Province, as torrential rain caused severe flooding in the county, authorities said.

River water overflowed into downtown streets of the county seat, and most of the examinees were unable to reach their exam venues on time, according to the provincial education examinations authority.

All of the 2,000-plus examinees in the county were affected yesterday. After reporting to the Ministry of Education, the provincial education examinations authority said the exams on Chinese language and math originally scheduled for yesterday will be postponed to tomorrow in the county, and exams on other subjects will be held as scheduled today.

Heavy rain has affected over 420,000 people in Anhui, as local authorities launched the level II emergency response, the second-highest, for flood prevention yesterday.

The downpour that started on July 2 has affected seven cities and 31 county-level administrations in the province, leading to the evacuation of 27,000 people and a direct economic loss of 510 million yuan (US$72 million) as of Monday, local emergency management department said.

The rain has also affected 31,700 hectares of crops and damaged 617 houses.

The province raised its emergency response as the waters of multiple rivers exceeded warning levels, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

A bridge dating back over 480 years to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) collapsed in floodwaters in the province. Zhenhai Bridge, a state-level cultural relics protection site located in Tunxi District in the city of Huangshan, was destroyed.

(Xinhua)