Heavy rainstorms leave 5 dead, 2 missing in Hangzhou

Heavy rainstorms slammed parts of Fuyang district in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Saturday afternoon, leaving five dead and two others missing in a village.

According to reports of Hubei province-based Jimu News, heavy downpours began in Luocun village in Hangzhou's Fuyang district at around 5 pm on Saturday. An hour later, the water level of the Luocunxi River surged, which led to flooding of several houses in the village.

A villager told Jimu that cars were swept away and some houses collapsed. The last time the river experienced flooding was about five years ago, but it was not as severe as this time.

Officials from the village confirmed that seven villagers were swept away by the flood. Among them, five individuals were found, while two others remain missing. Out of the five villagers who were found, one person passed while being treated in the hospital, and the other four were discovered dead.

Currently, multiple departments are conducting evacuations of people and search operations for the missing.

dujuan@chinadaily.com.cn