China rainstorms kill 9, cause major direct economic losses

Nine people were killed and one went missing in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region after rainstorms, that have affected millions of people over the last few days, Chinese local authorities said. As of Tuesday evening, over 932,000 people and 51,860 hectares of farmland in Guangxi have been affected by downpours since June 21, according to the regional civil affairs bureau. Over 3,121 houses have collapsed due to the downpours, which fell on 44 counties of 13 cites in Guangxi. And direct economic losses are estimated to stand at about 389 million yuan (61.15 million US dollars), the official (Xinhua) news agency reported Wednesday. Local governments have relocated 226,000 people. The regional government has allotted a relief fund of 3.5 million yuan and other relief goods, including tents and quilts to the disaster-affected regions. In neighboring Guizhou province, downpours have battered eight cities and counties, blocking roads and cutting power supplies in some regions. About 510,000 people have been affected by the rain and floods. Local governments have relocated 10,084 people to safe regions. Over 596 houses have collapsed and 13,431 hectares of farmland have been flooded in Guizhou. Torrential rain has also swept east China's Jiangxi province since June 22. A total of 1.2 million people have been affected in the province, which was evacuated of over 40,000 people and saw 3,759 houses toppled by floods, as of Tuesday evening, according the provincial flood prevention and control headquarters. Direct economic losses of about 1.7 billion yuan have been incurred. Persistent storms have swollen three major Jiangxi rivers, the water levels of which have risen above warning levels in some sections as of Tuesday. The nation's top meteorological authority said Tuesday that heavy rains and storms will continue to batter the south until Wednesday.