Over 77,000 evacuated in rainstorm-hit east China
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More than 77,000 people have been evacuated in China's eastern and central provinces of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui and Hubei, which have been hit by a new round of rainstorms since Tuesday.
The heavy rain also caused more casualties in the rain-soaked Chinese regions, where previous downpours have left nearly 180 dead or missing in the past two weeks.
Four people were killed and another seven are missing in rain-triggered landslides in Anhui and Hubei provinces on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to local flood control authorities.
Lightning killed two people and severely injured another one in southwest China's Guizhou Province.
By Wednesday afternoon, the rain had forced the evacuation of 70,100 people in Jiangxi and toppled 1,320 houses, said a spokesman with the provincial flood control headquarters.
Rescuers in the worst-hit city of Dexing are racing to shift 5,200 people trapped by floods to safe places, said the spokesman.
The meteorological station predicted that the rain will continue, exceeding 50 mm of accumulated rainfall in the provincial capital of Nanchang, Shangrao city and Jingdezhen city.
It recommended that residents near the center of the storm cut outdoor power supplies and refrain from outdoor activities. It also warned local governments to take preventive measures in case the rain triggers landslides, floods and mud-rock flows.
In Zhejiang, heavy rains since Tuesday have forced the evacuation of 2,059 people in 17 counties, where 79 houses were toppled and 2,370 hectares of farmland damaged, said Liu Fayuan, deputy director of the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.
The rain also forced over 3,300 people to leave their homes in Anhui Province.
In Hubei Province, a barrier lake formed after debris from a landslide blocked a river, prompting the evacuation of 2,000 downstream residents.
In the southwestern Chongqing Municipality, where biggest daily rainfall reached 104.2 mm, more than 110,000 people have been affected by the downpour since Monday.
The rains toppled 120 houses, inflicting a direct economic loss of 55.5 million yuan (about 8.5 million U.S. dollars). No casualties have been reported as of yet.
According to Yan Yonghui, vice director of the city's flood control and drought relief headquarters, the rain eased the lingering drought, but there remains a shortage of drinking water for 223,000 residents and 131,900 cattle, most of whom reside in the mountainous southern area.
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