Rainstorms kill 13 in southwest China

BEIJING, Aug 26 (Reuters) Torrential rains in southwest China have killed 13 people in the past five days, Xinhua news agency reported today, as the country reels from weather-related disasters.

Up to 268 millimetres of rain ravaged the city of Yibin in the southwestern province of Sichuan, triggering landslides and flows of rock and mud, toppling about 4,000 houses and sparking the evacuation of more than 2,300 people.

The deaths included five who were killed in a landslide late yesterday, the report said.

The death toll from flooding -- a perennial woe for China -- has been about 1,000 so far this year, including 39 killed by typhoon Sepat and the days of downpours that followed.

REUTERS KK PM1602