Society

Strong floods kill 26 in SW China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-24 19:17

BEIJING - Rain-triggered floods have left 26 people dead and 10 others missing in China's southwestern regions since Monday, according to the National Commission for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) and the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

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Over the last four days, strong floods and ensuing landslides and mudslides have battered 90 counties and cities in four provincial-level regions including Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan, according to a statement released Friday by NCDR.

Figures from the commission show that the latest round of heavy rains have affected 4.12 million people and forced the evacuation of 142,000 as of 3 pm Friday. The direct economic losses have amounted to 1.56 billion yuan ($241 million).

The ministry, together with NCDR, started a level-4 emergency response Thursday night and sent a special work team to Chongqing, where 112,000 people were evacuated, to gauge the damage and direct the disaster relief operations there.