At least 19 people were killed and 20 others were missing after heavy downpours battered China's Sichuan Province, Chongqing Municipality and Shaanxi Province, local authorities said on Sunday.

As of Sunday, torrential rains have killed 12 people in Chongqing Municipality, three in Sichuan Province and another four in Shaanxi Province.

As many as 164,000 people were forced to evacuate in Shaanxi, and 85,000 people were relocated to safer places in Sichuan.

Lingering rainstorms have battered northwest and southwest China since Sept. 9, triggering severe landslides and floods in these regions. The Xinhua News Agency reported that the rainstorms have collapsed about 8,200 housing units in Sichuan.

According to the National Meteorological Center (NMC), heavy rain will continue to batter southwest and central China until Monday afternoon. The northeast part of Sichuan will see rainstorms with precipitation of up to 120 mm, it said.

Moreover, the NMC maintained a blue alert for downpours in the country's western regions, which have seen substantial rainfall in the past week.

Related

• China maintains heavy rain alert, warns of typhoon
• Heavy rain to hit vast parts of China
• Rain to sweep southwest, south China
• Heavy rain eases drought in C. China
• Rain to sweep north China
• Heavy rain to continue in S China

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)