72 killed, 78 missing in Hebei storms

SHIJIAZHUANG - Torrential rain and floods have left 72 people dead and 78 others missing in north China's Hebei Province, according to its civil affairs bureau.

Local authorities have evacuated nearly 300,000 people.

The provincial government allocated 105 million yuan (15.7 million U.S. dollars) of emergency funds for the worst-hit places to help with relief work.

The province has suffered direct economic losses of 14.6 billion yuan from the natural disaster.

Jingxing County, located in the west of the province, saw an average precipitation of 545.4 mm in the 19 hours between 1 p.m. on Tuesday and 8 a.m. on Wednesday, surpassing the amount received by the county in the whole of 2015.

There have been power outages, disruptions to communication and other infrastructure, and road closures across Jingxing.

North and northeast China have been swept by heavy rain this week, causing many casualties and a lot of property damage.