22 killed China floods, 3.7 million hit

Beijing, Jun 20: At least 22 people have been killed and 3.7 million hit by flooding and landslides in China, which has been battling heavy rains for the past three days that have caused economic losses worth over USD 400 million, officials said today.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said that about 3.7 million people in seven provinces, including Hubei and Sichuan, have been hit by flooding, landslides and mud flows since Saturday.

At least 20 people have been reported missing. Direct economic losses due to the flooding has hit 2.68 billion yuan (USD 407.9 million), the ministry said.

More than 2,400 homes were damaged and 20,900 hectares of crops were destroyed in the summer rainstorms, which were heavier than usual this year.

Statistics from the ministry showed that floods and hailstorms resulted in the death of two persons and displaced 13,000 in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region battered by bad weather between June 16 to June 19.

One person still remains missing. Eight people were trapped in a flooded coal mine in the southwestern Guizhou Province, state-run Xinhua news agency reported and added that torrential rain is forecast to continue in south China over the next three days.

The seasonal rains cause heavy flooding in China every year, usually affecting the country for around two months beginning in late May.

PTI