Rains lash Gansu; at least 12 dead

Torrential rain in Gansu province's Dongxiang autonomous county - which is sparsely vegetated and has many poor residents - had left at least 12 dead and another four missing as of Thursday, and the weather is continuing, local authorities said.

Thirty-nine people had been hospitalized as of 3:30 pm Thursday, after precipitation of up to 11.4 centimeters within three hours on Wednesday night brought a mountain torrent that destroyed their homes. The disaster resulted in direct economic losses of 320 million yuan ($47.2 million), the local government said.

It added that 2,444 people had been evacuated.