/ 11 August 2007

Floods, landslides kill more than 30 in China

At least 35 people were killed after violent rainstorms triggered floods and landslides in various parts of China, state media reported on Saturday.

At least 25 people were killed and 37 went missing in north-west China after continuous downpours began to hit cities and counties in Shaanxi province on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting the local flood control headquarters.

Meanwhile, another Xinhua report said at least ten were killed and two missing after a landslide hit a hydropower station under construction in south-west China’s Sichuan province on Friday.

The flow of mud and rocks triggered by rainstorms hit the construction site in Ya’an city and a group of workers were engulfed whilst trying to escape, the provincial disaster relief office was cited as saying.

More rainstorms were expected to hit Sichuan in the next few days, the report said.

The latest deaths continue a devastating run of weather for China, with the Ministry of Civil Affairs reporting that natural disasters had left 712 people dead and 163 missing in July.

The death toll from natural disasters in the vast country in the first seven months of this year was 1 279, with another 239 missing, according to the ministry — AFP