The Ministry of Civil Affairs has dispatched working groups to two provinces in east and central China that have lost 21 lives to rainstorms this week.

 

The working groups left Beijing Thursday to inspect the aftermath of the natural adversities, forward condolences to locals and coordinate their rescue operation, said officials with the Disaster Relief Department of the ministry on Friday.

 

Rainstorms have claimed 10 lives and caused 800 million yuan (US$100 million) in damages by Friday in east China's Jiangxi Province, according to the provincial bureau of civil affairs.

 

A total of 1.73 million people in 345 townships of 32 counties in Jiangxi have been affected by the rainstorms from Sunday to Wednesday, the bureau said.

 

In central Hubei Province, 11 people died in various mishaps caused by rainstorms from Sunday to 5 PM Thursday and 37,000 locals were translocated. A total of 11,000 houses tumbled.

 

Local governments have begun distributing tents and quilts in the areas badly hit by the storms.

 

 

 

 

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2006)