Rain-triggered disasters leave 70 people dead

More than 600,000 people were evacuated in Dazhou and Guang'an cities, China's Sichuan, ahead of what was expected to be the worst flood since records began in 1847. [Chinanews.com]

Floods and landslides triggered by recent heavy rains in eight of China's provincial-level regions have left 70 people dead and 32 others missing this month.

Heavy downpours, floods and other related disasters have affected Sichuan, Shaanxi, Henan, Chongqing, Hubei, Shandong, Shanxi and Gansu, the National Disaster Reduction Commission said in a statement released on Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, these disasters have affected 21.56 million people and caused an estimated 26.09 billion yuan (4.08 billion U.S. dollars) in direct economic losses, the statement said.