Monday, July 6, 2009

Torrential rain in China leaves at least 20 dead: state media

Terra Daily via Agence France-Presse: At least 20 people have died and more than 670,000 had to be evacuated in China after torrential rain and floods destroyed houses, damaged roads and caused rivers to overflow, state media said Sunday.

The fatalities occurred over several days of relentless heavy rain in the centre and south of the country, also leaving another five people missing, according to Xinhua news agency. In Hunan province, eight people died and 140,000 were forced out of their homes, Xinhua said, quoting the provincial flood control office.

Water levels of some rivers in the southern Guangxi region were the highest since 1998, when downpours led to the worst flooding in over 100 years and resulted in more than 3,600 deaths nationwide, China Central Television said Saturday….

A flood in Shenzhen, China, from 2008, shot by Chase Chesser, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License

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