Rainstorm affects 2.2m in southwest China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-06-29 21:24

CHENGDU -- A rainstorm that began on Thursday has killed five villagers and destroyed 5,598 homes in southwest China's Sichuan Province, government sources said on Friday.

The rainstorm hit 26 counties with six reporting precipitations of more than 100 millimeters, according to the provincial disaster relief office.

More than 1,000 people were displaced and 2.2 million were affected by the rainstorm, the office said.

Two people died in collapsed buildings in Nanchong city, one in a landslide in Ya'an city, and one each in Neijiang and Ganzi, it said.

The rainstorm has also destroyed 5,600 hectares of crops.

Traffic, power, water and communications were cut off in the worst-hit areas, according to the office.

The storm, which ended Friday morning, caused losses of 147 million yuan (19.3 million U.S. dollars).

Local authorities are organizing rescue and disaster relief efforts.

Floods have left at least 49 people dead and 23 missing since late May in China's Hubei, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces and Chongqing city, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.



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