Russian, Chinese PMs agree on mutual flood assistance

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian and Chinese prime ministers Dmitry Medvedev and Li Keqiang have agreed on mutual assistance in dealing with floods that have hit both countries, the Russian government has reported, according to RIA Novosti.

In a phone conversation between Medvedev and Keqiang on Thursday, August 22 the Russian premier expressed condolences to his Chinese counterpart over the death toll from floods in China that has reportedly exceeded 100.

In Russia, some 30,000 people have been affected by floods in three regions in the country’s Far East - the Amur Region, the Khabarovsk Territory and the Jewish Autonomous Region - after heavy rains that caused the Amur River to burst its banks. About 20,000 people have been evacuated. No casualties have been reported.

Over 40,000 people in the Russian Far East are currently involved in relief and rescue operations, including 10,000 from the Emergencies Ministry and over 4,000 military servicemen, according to Vladimir Stepanov, the head of the Emergencies Ministry’s crisis situation management center.