Rain kills 5, affects 2 million in central China city

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-25 23:20

XIANGFAN - Heavy rain has left five dead and 30 injured with 2 million affected in Xiangfan City in central China's Hubei Province, according to the local flood control authority.

The wet weather, which began on Tuesday and ended on Friday evening, had forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 people, according to the city's flood control authorities.

From 2 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, the urban area of Xiangfan reported precipitation of nearly 30 cm, the biggest since meteorological records began in 1959.

The Hubei Red Cross Society allocated rice, blankets and disinfectant medicine worth 330,000 yuan (US$48,000) to the city.

If the floods don't subside within a short time, more inundated houses would collapse and some 1 million hectares of crops would be completely destroyed, said Li Yuehua, Xiangfan's vice mayor.

In the past few days the rain has left 16 people dead in Hubei with direct economic losses of 3 billion yuan.