Heavy Rain Claims Ton Lives In China, Millions Evacuated

About 90 people have lost their lives in China due to heavy rain and more than 70 others are missing.

The Xinhua news agency reported most of the casualties have occurred in the northern province of Hebei where heavy rain has triggered floods and landslides.

The agency cited civil affairs department and reported about 16 million people have been forced to evacuate their homes and about 50,000 homes have been collapsed.

In the central province of Henan about 18,000 houses have been damaged, 7.2 million people have been affected, 15 have been killed and 8 are still missing after thunderstorms and strong winds.

Government figure reveals over 1.5 million hectares of crops have been damaged due to heavy rains and this has resulted with economic losses of over 20 billion yuan, which is about $3 billion.

The central bank of China meanwhile has announced of offering financial support for the flooded areas.

Flash flood in the early hours of Wednesday has almost wiped out the Daxian village in Xingtai city. The villagers were asleep then and photos shared on social media show drowned children lying in mud.

Villagers have questioned the authorities why they failed to inform them for evacuation when an upstream reservoir discharged floodwater.