15 killed as severe storms rip through China

At least 15 people were killed and five others missing as severe storms tore through south China, destroying several houses and affecting over three million people.

Jiangxi Province has been the hardest hit where the heavy storms since Monday killed eight people and displaced 65,000 others, provincial civil affairs department said.

Over 1,600 houses have collapsed in the province and the direct economic losses reached over USD 73 million, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

About 38,000 people have been relocated by authorities to safer places while 35,000 are still in urgent need of relief.

The rain caused the biggest flood in the history of the <g data-gr-id="16">Meichuan</g> River in Jiangxi.

Downpours had caused blackouts in 2,20,000 households in <g data-gr-id="21">Ganzhou</g> City of Jiangxi, but the power supply resumed for half of them by on Wednesday afternoon.

Heavy rains have also forced the delay or cancellation of hundreds of passenger flights as flood waters in some areas rose to more than 2 meters.