BEIJING • Floods and landslides have killed scores of people in China's central Hunan province as two weeks of torrential rains forced 1.6 million to flee, authorities said yesterday.
Some 53,000 homes have collapsed while nearly 350,000 others were seriously or partially damaged after 11 straight days of rain, according to Mr Tang Biyu, the deputy director of Hunan's civil affairs department.
At least 63 people were killed by landslides, the flow of debris or the collapse of homes, while 20 more are missing, Mr Tang said in a statement, which put the damage bill at US$5.6 billion (S$7.8 billion).
Central and southern China have been hit by a deluge since last month.
Authorities in the southern region of Guangxi last week reported that two dozen people had been killed or gone missing due to flooding, which also damaged thousands of houses.
In late June, a massive landslide buried a village in south-west Sichuan province, killing at least 10 and leaving 73 more missing.
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63
People were killed by landslides, debris flow or the collapse of homes in China's central Hunan province.
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20
Number of people who are missing.
China's civil affairs ministry has urged local governments to take care of residents affected by the rains by providing food, clean water, temporary residences, and medical care.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, XINHUA
Correction note: This story has been edited to provide the correct currency conversion for US$5.6 billion, which is S$7.8 billion. We are sorry for the error.
