Floods kill 1,072, leaving 619 missing so far this year in China

Rain-triggered floods have left 1,072 people dead and 619 others missing so far this year in China, a senior flood control official said Wednesday.

The floods affected 140 million people in 28 provinces and regions and caused direct economic losses estimated at almost 210 billion yuan, said Shu Qingpeng, deputy director of the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

The flooding also destroyed more than 1.1 million homes and damaged 9.72 million hectares of farmland, Shu said during an online interview with the Chinese government web portal www.gov.cn on Wednesday.

China's large rivers, including the Yangtze, the Yellow and the Songhua rivers, were all swollen to danger levels after heavy rains, which had inundated more than 160 cities across the country, Shu said.

Eight small reservoirs collapsed during the rainy weather and another 1,000 reservoirs were at risk. Water also overflowed from some small and medium-sized rivers, Shu said.

Source:Xinhua