15 Dead, 20 Missing in Floods in Southwest ChinaFifteen people have been reported dead and 20 people are missing after the recent devastating floods in Funing County in the Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in southwest China's Yunnan Province.The floods also caused great damage to the farmland, houses, water conservancy, transportation, electric power and communication facilities. A heavy rainstorm hit the county at midnight on August 25, leading to a rapid increase of the water level of the rivers. Some people, who were still asleep were swept into water. In the county town of Funing, more than 800 residential houses collapsed in the floods, and 137 vehicles were swept away. Over 90 percent of the streets in the northern part of the town were inundated by water. Highways connecting the province with the neighboring Guangxi, Guangdong and Jiangxi were damaged. The direct economic losses are estimated at 227 million yuan (27 million US dollars), according to initial calculations. |
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