Torrential rains have killed five people and affected approximately 1.27 million people in northeast China's Jilin Province, causing direct economic losses estimated at 2.24 billion yuan (US$271 million), according to the provincial flood control headquarters on Thursday.

Of the five who died, four were students from a village school in the city of Yushu. They were on their way home from school when the floods hit at around 4:00 PM on June 30.
  
Statistics from Jilin Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters show that heavy rain affected 252 towns from 38 counties of the province, flattening 5,287 houses, destroying about 354,900 hectares of crops, and killing 859 domestic animals.
   
About 192.6 km of road and 11 km of railway were also affected. Telecommunication and electricity transmission were disrupted in some parts of the province.
   
44 small reservoirs were damaged and 82 dykes destroyed.

Direct economic losses are estimated at 293 million yuan (US$35 million) in industrial transportation and 347 million yuan (42 million) in water conservancy devices, according to the headquarters.
   
By 8:00 AM Wednesday, the average rainfall in Jilin Province reached 203.3 millimeters, up 67 percent from the average.

In related news, three-day long torrential rains have left nine people dead and six others missing, in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the provincial civil affairs department said on Thursday. The disasters toppled more than 35,000 houses and damaged 349,900 hectares of farmland, affecting more than 300,000 people in 40 townships of 12 counties.

(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2005)