13 killed, 13 missing in severe rains in China

Beijing: At least 13 people have been killed and 13 others remain missing after heavy rains caused flash floods and landslides across a number of provinces in China.

Floods had left three people dead in Jiangxi, according to the provincial civil affairs department. So far, 21,000 people in the province have been relocated to safer places.

In Hunan, continuous rain resulted in swollen rivers, landslides and mud-rock flows. Three people died in Hengshan County, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters on Wednesday.

Three residents of Xiangtan County were reported missing after their home was buried by a landslide while in Longhui County one person is also missing.

About 530 houses collapsed, and 11,900 people were evacuated, said the headquarters.

A reservoir with capacity of more than 70,000 cubic meters in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province, was reported to be leaking on Wednesday morning.

As of today, workers were still at the site, trying to bring the situation under control. More than 1,400 people living downstream have been evacuated, said the local flood control office.

In Guangxi, one person was killed when a house collapsed in torrential rain, said the regional civil affairs department on Wednesday.

Two unaccounted for people were swept away by floods while another was buried by a landslide.

The rain and ensuing disasters also destroyed 754 houses, seriously damaged another 408, ruined 20,200 hectares of crops, forced the evacuation of 5,900 people and inflicted a direct economic loss estimated at 150 million yuan.

In Jinping County in Guizhou, five people have died and four are still missing, according to the county's publicity office.

Heavy rain pounded the county with 202 millimeters of precipitation recorded in some areas.

Traffic, power and telecommunications were all disrupted and homes destroyed.

It is estimated that the rain has caused direct economic losses of 127 million yuan.

In Guangdong, a female climber died and nearly 300 rescuers are searching for three members of her group who were swept away by a flash flood on Tianchi Mountain, according to the publicity office of Qujiang District, Shaoguan city.

The Hebei Provincial Meteorological Bureau today issued a red rainstorm alert, forecasting more heavy rains.

Meanwhile, heavy rain has hit many parts of north China, flooding streets and halting transportation as the met officials raised its storm alert from yellow to orange.

Shanxi Province is experiencing its strongest rainfall since the high water season began, with 109 out of 119 cities and counties having seen rain, local authorities said.

Beijing too had heavy rains since yesterday with showers continuing to lash the city today.

China has a four-tier colour-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.