2 people dead, 2 missing due to rain-triggered flood in southwest China

2 people dead, 2 missing due to rain-triggered flood in southwest China

2011-06-24 22:23:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

CHONGQING, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- China's Ministry of Civil Affairs on Friday informed that 2 people were killed and 2 more went missing due to rain-triggered flood in southwest China.

According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the southwest city of Chongqing was severely affected on Thursday after heavy rains caused flooding forcing the evacuation of about 109,000 residents.

The municipal civil affairs bureau of Chongqing informed that the flooding toppled about 5,600 houses across the region and a further 13,800 residences were damaged. Overall, heavy rains caused damages estimated at 780 million Yuan ($120 million).

China's National Commission for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) said that heavy rains and flooding have left 26 people dead and at least 10 missing in the country's southwestern regions since Monday.

Over the last four days, 90 counties have been hit by the extreme weather. According to NCDR, 4.12 million residents have been affected while about 142,000 others were evacuated.

Furthermore, the direct economic losses have amounted to 1.56 billion Yuan ($241 million). According to the local flood control authorities, most of the victims were killed as their homes were buried by rain-triggered landslides.

On Wednesday, the Chinese government allocated an additional 175 million Yuan ($26.92 million) to help flood victims in Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Sichuan provinces. Since the harsh weather began, 340 million Yuan ($52.5 million) has been granted for flood relief efforts.

Flooding and rainstorms in parts of China have killed more than 140 people in recent weeks, while hundreds of thousands more have been forced to evacuate. Nearly 2,000 people have also been injured as a result of the severe weather

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