Thirty-one people had been killed, eight were missing and 171 had been injured by 11 AM on Thursday as rainstorms continued to rage in east China's Shandong Province, according to the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs.

By Thursday morning, 5,718 households had been flooded and 135 houses destroyed in cities that included Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai and Zibo, the ministry reported.

It has been the strongest rainfall this year in Shandong Province. Jinan, the provincial capital, received a record 180 mm of rainfall within three hours from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Wednesday, the city's meteorological bureau said.

The rainstorm cut off traffic, electricity and water supply for three hours in Jinan. There is no report yet concerning economic losses, the numbers of affected residents and statistics regarding collapsed houses amid the rainfall, according to the local government.

(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2007)