Rainstorms and an ensuing flash flood left three people dead and three others missing in Danjiangkou City, central China's Hubei Province, by 9:30 PM on Monday, according to the city's flood control office. Another died of an unspecified acute illness whilst trapped on a bus.

148 mm of rain fell in Danjiangkou's Guanshan Town from Sunday evening to Monday morning in the worst storms since 1975, damaging more than 400 meters of highway, 1,500 meters of river dykes, and destroying 2,230 residential buildings.

The flood control office estimated the direct economic losses to exceed 85 million yuan (US$10.5 million).

More than 2,500 people have been evacuated and rescue efforts are continuing in the affected areas.

The National Meteorological Center issued warnings yesterday of torrential rain in many parts of north, northeast, central, east and southwest China.

"Heavy rains and rainstorms will pound parts of Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Jilin provinces in northeast China, and Hebei Province, Beijing and Tianjin in north China," it warned.

Affected by Sanvu, this year's 10th typhoon, and the summer monsoon, it was forecast reainstorms would sweep across Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Shandong, Henan, Guizhou and Yunnan and Chongqing Municipality from today.

Meteorologists urged authorities in mountainous areas to prepare for mud-rock flows, landslides and other disasters.

At least ten people were killed with 35 still missing yesterday after the floods and heavy rains in Liaoning on Friday and Saturday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily August 16, 2005)