Society

Floods kill 24, force evacuation of 100,000

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-08 13:37

NANCHANG/GUIYANG - Rain-triggered floods have killed 24 people in China over the past week, with three new deaths reported in East China's Jiangsu province, the local government said.

Torrential rains toppled a home in the province's city of Shangrao early Tuesday, washing away 5 people, a county government spokesman said.

Rescuers retrieved three bodies on Wednesday, including a young couple and their child. The child's grandparents remain missing, the spokesman said.

Persistent downpours have also wreaked havoc in Southwest China's Guizhou province since June 3, forcing nearly 100,000 people to evacuate.

In the province's Wangmo county, floods have killed 21 people and left more than 30 missing, the provincial civil affairs bureau said.

The local weather bureau has forecasted a new round of rainfalls across the province from June 9 to 12 and warned of more possible flooding.

The central government has sent a relief team to Wangmo county, headed by Vice-Minister of Civil Affairs Jiang Li.