116 killed or missing as rains create havoc in China

As many as 116 people were either killed or missing in fresh bout of rainstorms in China which has caused havoc, flattening homes, disrupting power and traffic besides triggering evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people, according to official figures released on Thursday. Forty-two people were killed and 74 remained missing in torrential rains in central and north areas since on Wednesday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The casualties of rains continued to mount as already over 300 people were killed and over 100 listed missing in rains, floods and typhoon in China since last month. Heavy rain in north China’s Hebei Province since on Wednesday morning has left 30 people dead and 68 missing, the provincial civil affairs department said on Thursday. About 163,900 people have been forced to leave their homes.

The department has received reports of floods and landslides damaging more than 47,713 houses and 354,600 hectares of crops, causing traffic chaos, power outages and wreaking havoc with communications. So far, direct economic losses from the rain-triggered disaster reached 4.75 billion yuan. Relief supplies including tents, quilts and clothing have been distributed in the worst-hit cities including Handan, Xingtai and the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang.