Chinese President Xi Jinping visited flood affected areas in Heilongjiang province in northeastern China where he inspected damaged homes and crops on Thursday, state media reported.

Xi, who is the paramount leader of China’s ruling Communist Party and its top military commander, visited flood-affected villages in Shangzhi, according to Xinhua.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, centre, inspects restoration work on damaged houses and infrastructure in Longwangmiao on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua
The president’s visit came a month after Typhoon Doksuri brought heavy rain to the country’s north, particularly Heilongjiang, the nation’s biggest grain producer known as China’s “great northern granary”.
He visited farmland at Longwangmiao village to inspect flood damaged rice crops, and walked along streets to inspect the progress of repair and reconstruction of damaged houses and infrastructure, Xinhua said.

The state media outlet said Xi, when learning of victims’ losses and current needs, expressed sympathy and encouraged them to bolster their confidence to overcome difficulty. According to Xinhua, the president expressed hope that citizens could soon resume normal work and life, and that their lives would continue to improve.

Farmers scramble in China’s flooded northern granary as Typhoon Khanun looms

Shangzhi is a major agricultural area in Heilongjiang, known for its rice, soybeans and corn production.

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Before Typhoon Doksuri, it had had 19 consecutive years of bountiful harvest. But given that agricultural land was severely damaged by the flood, there is little expectation of a harvest this year, according to Thepaper.cn, a Shanghai news portal.

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Rescue operations continue after severe flooding in northern China from Typhoon Doksuri

Rescue operations continue after severe flooding in northern China from Typhoon Doksuri

According to a report by the Shangzhi municipal government on August 4, it experienced the heaviest rainfall since 1957, and was judged to have exceeded the once-in-a-century level. Across the city that week, school and work were suspended.

Since Typhoon Doksuri made landfall in Fujian in southeastern China on July 28, severe flooding has killed at least 61 people in Beijing and neighbouring Hebei province, displaced millions and caused havoc in Beijing and several surrounding cities.

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