4 dead, 3 reported missing in Hunan floods

Four people were killed and three others were missing in Zixing, Hunan province, when torrential rains associated with Typhoon Gaemi battered the city, according to media reports.

Search and rescue efforts have been underway since the storm hit on Friday.

The average accumulated rainfall in Zixing from 8 am on Friday to 6 am on Monday was 409.8 millimeters, with the highest recorded rainfall hitting a record 642.5 mm, Hunan Daily reported.

The rain caused communication outages in 78 villages; power was lost in 112 others. About 87,000 people were affected, the report said, noting that as of of 6 am on Monday the city had transferred 11,275 people to safety.

A notice issued by the Hunan provincial headquarters for flood and drought prevention on Monday asked local authorities to ramp up their inspections of dikes and dams at rivers and provide water level warnings.

Officials who have violated rules for dike inspections or failed to report risks or dike breaches will be removed from their posts immediately, the notice said.