Death toll rises to 101 in flood-hit south China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-07-09 21:26

Floods have caused seven more deaths in seven provinces in China, bringing the death toll to 101, a spokesman with the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Monday.

Another 26 people are missing as a result of torrential rain which began lashing the Huaihe River valley, the eastern area of Sichuan Province and the southern area of Shaanxi Province on June 28.

About 28 million people have been affected and nearly 800,000 people in Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Chongqing and Shaanxi had been evacuated by 4:00 pm on Monday.

More than 75,500 houses have collapsed and another 295,600 have been damaged.

Altogether 2.13 million hectares of farmland have been affected, with agricultural losses estimated at 3.7 billion yuan (US$485 million) while total direct economic losses could reach 6.9 billion yuan, according to the spokesman.

Heavy rains also triggered mountain torrents, landslides and mudflows.



Top China News  
Today's Top News  
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours