Rain-triggered floods kill five in south China

Rain-triggered floods kill five in south China

2011-07-02 23:59:45 GMT+7 (ICT)

BEIJING (BNO NEWS) -- China's National Disaster Reduction Commission on Saturday said five people were killed by rain-triggered floods that have inundated south China since Tuesday.

According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the floods also forced the evacuation of 55,000 people and caused direct economic losses of 770 million yuan ($119 million). The new round of rainstorms has triggered mudslides in the provinces of Zhejiang, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan and Yunnan over the last five days.

Last week, 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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