25 dead, 13 missing in storm-hit North China city

Heavy rain from Monday to Thursday has left 25 people dead and 13 missing in Xingtai, North China's Hebei province, local authorities said on Saturday.

As of Saturday morning, direct economic losses from the four-day rainstorm, the worst in history, were estimated at 1 billion yuan ($150 million).

More than 1 million residents in 21 counties and regions were affected by the disaster, among which 88,568 had been evacuated due to safety concerns.

The average precipitation in Xingtai from 8 am Monday to 8 am Thursday was 204 mm, with the maximum rainfall recorded in Neiqiu County at 519.2 mm.

The rainfall caused major rivers in the city to burst their banks, and 113,392 hectares of fields were inundated.

Among the rivers, Qilihe River was among the worst hit with its breaches causing damage to nearby villages.

It overflowed and 12 villages at the river's lower reaches were flooded.

According to a lost-and-missing list released by Xingtai's official micro-blog, at least half of the dead were from the villages.

Government authorities said they had taken a series of actions such as reinforcing dams, releasing early warnings and prompting evacuation.

According to Zhang Yinglin, an expert in water conservancy in the city, there was only one reservoir in the upper reaches of Qilihe River.

But the reservoir was not controllable because it had no floodgate, Zhang said.

He said the river course narrowed near Daxiancun village, where the river overflowed, he said.

"It was natural disaster and not caused by man-made factors," Qiu Wenshuang, director of the city's flood control and drought relief office, said.

Except for Xingtai, other badly-hit cities in Hebei also include Handan and the province's capital city, Shijiazhuang.

As of 2 pm Saturday, the rainstorm has killed 105 people and left 104 lost in the province, with the direct economic loss reaching 15.4 billion yuan, the province's Department of Civil Affairs announced.