New round of rain wreaks havoc in C China

CHANGSHA - One person died and 270,000 others were affected by a new round of rain in central China's Hunan province, authorities said Wednesday.

The deceased victim died after a house collapsed due to a rain-triggered landslide in a village in Zhujiapu township, Changde city, said a spokesman from the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

It was the second round of rain to hit the region in the last 10 days. It destroyed 1,760 houses and damaged 11,300 hectares of crops, the spokesman said.

Traffic in the provincial capital of Changsha was also affected, the spokesman said.

The second round of rain hampered disaster relief efforts following the first round of rainstorms, which hit most parts of the province from May 6 to 9, leaving seven people dead and affecting 420,000 others.

The provincial weather and hydrology departments said continuous heavy rain is expected for the following week, adding that the torrential rain may trigger flooding and other disasters.

Downpours have also swept Jiangxi and Hubei provinces.

As of 4 pm Wednesday, more than 4,000 people had been relocated and 260,000 were affected by a new round of rainstorms, the Jiangxi provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said.

The entire province saw average precipitation of 46.4 mm from 2 pm Tuesday to 2 pm Wednesday, with 96 mm of rainfall in some areas. Rivers in the province were swelling.

In Dangyang city, Hubei province, rainfall hit 178 mm in six hours, the provincial flood control authorities said Wednesday. Some 2,300 residents were temporarily evacuated and 136,000 people affected by the latest rainy weather.

Heavy rain and hailstorms also hit Aksu, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, late Tuesday and early Wednesday, affecting some 18,600 hectares of crops.