Society

Torrential rains leave 3 dead, 1 missing in SW China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-16 09:27

Torrential rains leave 3 dead, 1 missing in SW China

A landslide triggered by rain killed a 5-year-old and injured one at a large rambling country estate in Guangyin county, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, May 14, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]

NANNING - Three people were killed and one was missing amid heavy rains that pounded a scenic city of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region for the past two days, Guangxi's flood-control and drought relief headquarters said Saturday.

Continuous rainstorms triggered mud-rock flows Thursday night in Ziyuan County of Guilin City, killing three people there, the headquarters said.

On Friday morning, a fisherman was swept away by rain-triggered floods in Gongcheng County of Guilin.

Rainstorms had incurred property losses to about 19,000 people in Guilin as more than 30 houses collapsed, 1,100 hectares of farmland were inundated and many public facilities were damaged.

The economic damage was estimated at 13.2 million yuan (US$1.9 million).

In southern province of Guangdong, three rainstorms pelted Guangzhou, the provincial capital, over the past week, with rainfall up to 440 mm, a record high in 25 years.

The precipitation equaled to a quarter of the city's annual rainfall, according to meteorological statistics, said Lin Liangxun, Guangdong's chief weather forecaster.

Guangdong has reported one missing. More than 35,000 people have been affected by the three rounds of heavy rains.

Latest weather forecast said the rain is expected to weaken over the weekend.

In the central province of Hunan, more than 8,000 people were stranded Saturday after heavy rains inundated the key roads of a town. Rescuers were transporting food and daily necessities to the region through a small chain bridge.

The rain triggered mountain torrents in Xupu County on Wednesday and Thursday, causing damage to its four major bridges and the trunk roads linking Shanxi Town to the outside. Rescuers had to carry first-aid materials on their shoulders to the stranded population.

Water level in the worst-hit Shanxi Town reached 2.7 meters in the street, said Zhang Shanwen, Party chief of Shanxi Town.

Weather forecast said a new round of rains will hit the region on Sunday and Monday.