Rainstorms are likely to hit China's Yangtze River and Huaihe River valleys from midnight Sunday to Monday, bringing strong wind or hails to the areas along the rivers, the China Central Meteorological Station (CCMS) said Sunday.

 

Meteorologists warned people in China's southwestern Chongqing, central Hubei and Henan and eastern Shandong to be alert of floods and landslides in the coming three days.

 

The provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanxi and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region will also see heavy rainfalls from Monday to Wednesday, said the CCMS.

 

China reported more casualties on Sunday as rescuers retrieved the bodies of people missing in floods and mud-rock flows triggered by heavy rains in recent days in many parts of the country.

 

By July 16, China's death toll from natural disasters was 715 with 129 people missing, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

 

The figures showed 200 million people were affected by natural disasters, including floods, landslides, droughts, gales, snowstorms and earthquakes, while 4.45 million people were forced to leave their homes.  

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2007)