The death toll from landslides and flooding over the past few days has continued to climb.

In Ning'an in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, 103 people have been confirmed dead, including 99 school children, with six others still missing, according to the latest reports released yesterday by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

In East China's Shandong Province, at least three people have been killed and 40 injured since Tuesday as strong winds, hailstorms and tornadoes swept over 10 counties.

In neighbouring Jiangsu Province, such calamities claimed 10 lives and injured 108.

However, the worst may be yet to come as more bad weather is predicted in the coming days.

Next week, more than half of China faces potential flooding while the rest of the country swelters under scorching temperatures.

"A major rain zone will dominate the south, stretching to areas south of the Yangtze River and eastern parts of Southwest China," said Xiao Ziniu, deputy director of the China Meteorological Centre, yesterday in Beijing.

Consulting with meteorologists from Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces through a televised conference, Xiao warned more disasters could be triggered by the coming rains.

(China Daily June 17, 2005)