8 killed, 4 missing in N. China rainstorm

TAIYUAN/LANZHOU - A total of 8 people were killed and four are still missing after a rainstorm hit North China's Shanxi province and Northwest China's Gansu province since Friday, local authorities said Saturday.

Five people were killed and three were missing in Linxian county on Friday after a torrential rain with a precipitation of 197 mm within 3 hours smashed the county. Another worker at a highway construction site was also killed and one was missing in the rainstorm, according to the Shanxi Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Two villagers were drowned in a flood at Heisongyi town, Gulang county of Gansu province on Friday night. Their bodies were found on Saturday morning, according to the provincial government.

Nineteen work teams have been sent by the Shanxi provincial government to the cities along the Yellow River, the second largest river of China, to prepare for potential floods.