BEIJING, July 21 -- As the threat from Typhoon Haitang abated yesterday, the issue of sheltering from the storm was replaced by dealing with the resulting floods, preventing disease and repairing damage.

    

Chinese soldiers help evacuate local residents from their submerged houses in Shuitou township of Wenzhou city in eastern China's Zhejiang province July 20, 2005. [newsphoto]

Some of the 863,000 people in East China's Zhejiang and Fujian provinces who had fled began to return home yesterday after the once-howling typhoon limped into neighbouring Jiangxi Province.

    Two emergency teams arrived in Wenzhou and Lishui, two of the worst-hit areas, to combat disease, according to officials from the Provincial Bureau of Public Health.

    "The floods brought by the heavy rain make disease prevention in the aftermath extremely important," said Yan Dehua, director of the Emergency Division of the Zhejiang Bureau of Public Health.

    Tons of bleach and disinfectant were delivered to local residents, Yan added.

    Necessities for everyday life including more than 16,000 boxes of biscuits and instant noodles, 750 tons of cooking oil and 7,300 tons of rice were also sent to Wenzhou and Taizhou, according to reports from local civil affairs bureaux.

    Returning residents could be comforted somewhat knowing that the damage could have been worse; Haitang was considerably weaker when it pounded the mainland on Tuesday than when it lashed Taiwan on Monday. By yesterday, it had killed three in East China's Zhejiang Province and 10 in Taiwan.

¡¡¡¡Huge damage

    Nevertheless, losses reported in Fujian were devastating: 21 injured and direct economic losses of 2.63 billion yuan (US$317.6 million) including damage to 17,700 houses, the province's disaster relief authorities said.

    In Zhejiang, the bill for damage had reached at least 5.46 billion yuan (US$657.8 million) yesterday. Officials said casualty figures were still being calculated.

    Provincial officials said 5,710 homes were destroyed, 183,220 hectares of farmland ruined, 62,769 factories stopped operations and 447 highways were cut off.

    For some, though, the danger had not ended. About 700 people in the town of Shuitou in Wenzhou city were still trapped in their homes yesterday afternoon, and rescue operations continued into the night, according to officials from the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

    Although most of those trapped were not in imminent danger, the main concern was that flooding made the delivery of vital provisions difficult, according to Yao Yuewei, a senior officer in charge of local flood control and drought relief.

    Teams of technicians were trying to restore Wenzhou's power and communications. Power was expected to be back to normal by tomorrow, a local utility spokesman said.