Flooding and rainstorms in southern China kill another 18

Flooding and rainstorms in southern China kill another 18

2011-06-17 19:52:21 GMT+7 (ICT)

BEIJING, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- China's Ministry of Civil Affairs on Friday said that another 18 people have died while 25 others remain missing due to heavy rainfall and flooding in the last five days, raising the overall death toll from flooding in recent weeks to at least 130.

According to the Ministry, since Monday, harsh weather and rainfall in the southern region of China has forced around 671,200 people to leave their homes and evacuate the area, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

At least 37 people have died in Guizhou Province's Wangmo County alone in recent weeks, where 1,715 people have been reported injured and more than 45,000 residents have been forced to evacuate as well.

The week's rainfall marks the third round of harsh weather, which has triggered floods, landslides, and mudslides in several counties of China's southwestern region in the middle and lower areas of the Yangtze River.

As a result, Chinese officials have raised the emergency level to 4, the highest possible level, deploying emergency teams to the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi. Overall, including the 18 new victims, the death toll stands at 130.

During the week's rainfall, the Ministry said damages totaled to 12.85 billion yuan ($1.98 billion), but weather forecasts say rainstorms are to continue over the weekend in the southern and eastern regions, including the provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, and Zhejiang.

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