Landslides and mud-rock flows in southwest China's Yunnan Province have affected about 1.07 million people in nine cities and prefectures, leaving 35 dead, 47 missing and nine injured, the provincial government said Tuesday.

A firefighter crosses a river using a rope to rescue villagers in Lufeng county, November 3, 2008. [China Daily]

In a press release given to Xinhua on Tuesday, the provincial civil affairs department said it had helped relocate 45,100 people whose homes were damaged in geological disasters that followed almost 10 days of rain.

The document gave no breakdown of the casualties in different cities. But in the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, one of the worst hit areas, at least 20 people were confirmed dead and 45 missing.

Four deaths were reported in the provincial capital Kunming and two in Lincang City.

Damage was also reported in Honghe, Dali, Yuxi, Baoshan, Zhaotong and Dehong, where power supplies and communication links were cut and infrastructure was damaged.

In Chuxiong, landslides and cave-ins were seen every 200 meters on some village roads.

As of Monday night, more than 1,500 homes were destroyed and another 15,000 damaged. Almost 9,000 hectares of cropland was destroyed.

Continuous rain and subsequent landslides had cut off villages in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Deqen.

About 40 families in Yanggong village had been without electricity and tap water for 10 days.

"We have to spend more than five hours getting spring water from the mountains. With frequent landslides, the trip is increasingly dangerous," said villager Gesang Wangdue.

Zhang Yongming, deputy head of the Deqen government, said it might take a month to clear the roads, but the power and water would be back on within a week.

Heavy rainfall hit the area last weekend and caused torrents of mud and rock, which have affected nearly 1 million people in 13 counties of the Chuxiong Yi autonomous prefecture, Lincang county and the provincial capital Kunming.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2008)