Society

333 people dead in rainstorms, floods since July 14

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-27 19:04
Large Medium Small

BEIJING - A total of 333 people have been killed in rainstorms and floods across China since July 14 while 300 others were still missing, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Tuesday.

Rainstorms have been lashing provinces including Shaanxi, Sichuan and Henan, triggering floods and landslides, resulting in heavy losses of life and property, a ministry spokesman said.

Related readings:
333 people dead in rainstorms, floods since July 14 Floods leave 742 dead, 367 missing in China in 2010
333 people dead in rainstorms, floods since July 14 Chinese vice premier urges efforts to prevent floods
333 people dead in rainstorms, floods since July 14 111 killed, 167 missing as floods hit NW China province
333 people dead in rainstorms, floods since July 14 Death toll soars to 273 in July floods in China

Many houses had collapsed or been damaged, while traffic was at a standstill, and telecommunication and power down in some county seats, the spokesman added.

As of 4 pm Tuesday, the rainstorms and floods had affected more than 40 million people, destroyed 140,000 homes and 417,000 hectares of crops, and led to the relocation of 3.1 million people.

Direct economic losses from the rainstorms and floods were estimated to be 52.7 billion yuan ($7.78 billion).