Serious mudslides hit a remote mountain village in Xunyang County of Ankang City in the northwestern province of Shaanxi around 4:00 am on Monday, leaving 15 people missing and one injured.

Rescuers are busy searching for the missing victims.

The mud-rock flow also damaged 14 houses of Yongquan Village, according to local sources.

Xunyang County has experienced heavy rains since Aug. 28, and 28 local villages have experienced flooding. A total of 230,000 people were affected and economic losses totaled some 50 million yuan (US$6.05 million).

Rainstorms hit vast regions in Shaanxi Province recently. Over 50 rivers in the province reported floods and water levels of 19 rivers exceeded safety levels.

Forty percent of the province's reservoirs are operating at their full storage capacity.

Statistics show more than 4.9 million people in Shaanxi Province have been affected by the floods and economic losses exceeded 3 billion yuan (US$363 million).

(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2003)