15 killed, nearly 2M affected by floods in northern China

ANKARA

At least 15 people have been killed and three others remain missing after incessant rainfall triggered flooding in China’s northern Shanxi province, state media reported on Tuesday.

Close to 1.75 million residents have been impacted in 76 counties, cities, and districts, with more than 120,000 people currently displaced, according to public broadcaster CGTN.

The region was lashed by torrential rains from Oct. 2 to Oct. 7, damaging thousands of hectares of farmlands and destroying over 19,500 houses, the report said.

The initial direct economic losses stand at around $780 million, it added.

Authorities have, however, lowered the emergency flood response level, saying that the “flood situation in the province has stabilized” and “water levels of small and medium-sized rivers have fallen below the warning mark,” state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

The downpour in Shanxi this month was “three times the normal average rainfall for October in previous years,” the report said.

The flooding in Shanxi comes just months after heavy rains wreaked havoc in China’s Henan and Hubei provinces in July, killing at least 350 people and causing extensive property damage.