Rainstorm leaves three dead, one missing in SW China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-22 06:37

CHENGDU -- Three people died and one is missing with dozens injured after downpours devastated southwest China's quake-hit Sichuan province from Sunday to Monday.

A landslip triggered by the rainstorm killed two in Santai County in Mianyang City, the city's disaster relief office said.

About 300,000 people were affected by the rainstorms from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning, with the biggest precipitation of 288 millimeters reported in Jiangyou City.

The storm has caused direct economic losses of 120 million yuan (17.6 million U.S. dollars) in Mianyang.

The heavy rain also swept Suining and Leshan cities, leaving one dead, one missing and 23 injured.

Some 253 rooms collapsed in the rainstorms, which triggered 50 sites of landslide and damaged large sections of roads.

Sichuan was severely hit by an 8.0 magnitude earthquake on May 12. The death toll from the quake in Sichuan and its neighboring region was 69,197 as of Monday noon.