105 killed, 104 missing in Hebei storms

SHIJIAZHUANG - Torrential rain and floods have left 105 people dead and 104 others missing in north China's Hebei province as of 2 pm on Saturday, according to the provincial civil affairs bureau.

Local authorities have evacuated nearly 310,000 people.

Flooding and rain-triggered landslides have caused the collapse of more than 52,000 houses and damage to 160,000. Over 700,000 hectares of crops have also been destroyed, leading to direct economic losses of over 15 billion yuan (2.2 billion US dollars).