Payouts boost prospects of disaster-hit residents

Some residents in North China's Hebei province who suffered large losses in the recent flooding have received their first round of government compensation as targeted efforts are made to return their lives to normal.

A total of 1.19 billion yuan ($164 million) has been transferred to accounts of residents in more than 700 villages in Xingtai, Baoding, Langfang and Hengshui cities, according to Li Na, deputy head of the Hebei Department of Water Resources, Hebei Daily reported on Monday.

The first round of payments was mainly to compensate residents for their lost crops, the report said.

The villages are located in seven flood detention basins that the province uses for diverting and storing floodwaters.

A detention basin is an area that is designed or designated for the temporary or permanent retention of floodwaters. "These low-lying areas include lakes, wetlands, farms and even residential areas," Cheng Xiaotao, deputy chief engineer of the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, told state broadcaster China Central Television earlier this month.

In the next compensation step, payments will be made in accordance with regulations for losses in other areas, including forests, breeding, properties, agricultural machinery and household durable goods, Li said.

According to the Interim Measures for Compensation Applied to Flood Detention Basins, which was rolled out in 2000 after being approved by the State Council, crops in detention areas damaged by flooding will be compensated by 50 percent to 70 percent of the farmland's average annual output value based on the previous three years' output.

Other areas are regulated and receive a range of compensation. For example, damaged properties will be compensated by 70 percent, according to the interim measures.

The Ministry of Finance and the provincial financial department have also allocated 1.15 billion yuan in emergency relief funds to be used for the relocation of disaster-affected people and the restoration of damaged houses, Hebei Daily reported.

"I didn't expect the compensation could be given to us so quickly," said Wu Erhei, a resident in Wuzhuang village in Xingtai.

Wu received a text message on Sunday notifying him that the money had been transferred to his bank account. He lost corn crops grown on more than 1.6 hectares of farmland.

Zhou Yongwei, the Party chief of Fenghuazhuang village in Xingtai, said around 56 hectares of farmland in the village had been affected by the floodwaters, ruining crops in the fields.

A total of 106 farmers in the village have received compensation for their crop losses, Zhou said.

"With the compensation, we have gained more confidence to rebuild our homes," Zhou told Hebei Daily.

He added that after the floodwaters receded, villagers had started cleaning up mud and are gradually recovering from the disaster.

Wu, from Wuzhuang village, said: "I have been plowing the fields in recent days after the floodwaters receded. I have bought cabbage seeds and will plant them as soon as possible to make up for the loss."