Water supplies were cut to parts of the Jilin City on Thursday. State-run media reports that floodwaters washed 7,000 barrels of a dangerous chemical into the Songhua River from a nearby factory. <br /><br />It’s unclear how well the barrels were sealed. State-run media estimates as much as 500 tons of chemicals could still potentially contaminate the river. <br /><br />However some pollutants produced by the plant were detected in the river and a strange odor spread through downtown Jilin as metal containers floated in the river. <br /><br />The city suffered a major chemical spill in November 2005, when an explosion at a petrochemical plant released tons of hazardous chemicals into the river. <br /><br />People were rushing to buy water at area stores. <br /><br />In other parts of Jilin Province, 13 people were killed and six others left missing after floods swept through Yongji County, stranding 30,000 residents. <br /><br />[Local Resident]: (female, Mandarin) no title bar <br />"The water level has risen up to the first floor of our building." <br /><br />[Local Resident]: (female, Mandarin) no title bar <br />"The water level has risen up to the third floor of one of our local hospitals." <br /><br />In Changchun City, local residents were evacuated to another part of the city, where waist-deep flood water level had trapped nearly 3,000 people in their homes. <br /><br />Rains across central and southern China have killed more than 900 people and left over 400 missing so far this year, causing around 26 billion U.S. dollars in damage.
