Millions affected by heavy rain in SW China

CHENGDU - Storms and floods have left nine people dead and six others missing in Southwest China's Sichuan province as of Monday, the provincial Civil Affairs Department said Tuesday.

Torrential rains have battered much of the Sichuan Basin since June 29. The cities of Suining, Nanchong, Mianyang, Chengdu, Ziyang and Neijiang have seen heavy rain, with precipitation in Suining's Hengshan Township reaching nearly 600 mm.

The provincial civil affairs department said 3.24 million people from 42 counties across the province have been affected by the rain. Nearly 120,000 people have been relocated, 57,000 hectare of crops have been damaged and 3,562 houses have been toppled.

Local civil affairs departments have allocated disaster relief supplies for those affected by the rain.

The National Committee for Disaster Reduction and Civil Affairs Ministry dispatched working groups to affected regions to direct relief work on Monday.

The provincial meteorological observatory said the rain will continue until July 5 in western parts of the Sichuan Basin, as well as the cities of Panzhihua and Xichang.

In neighboring Chongqing Municipality, nearly 900,000 people have been affected by heavy rain since June 30.

The flood control and drought relief headquarters of Chongqing said Tuesday that the rain has incurred direct economic losses of 600 million yuan ($98 million).

Several rivers in Chongqing have flooded due to rising water levels on upstream river tributaries.

The municipal meteorological observatory said the rain will stop on Wednesday.