China
21:31, 05-Jul-2017
27 dead, eight missing after floods hit C. China's Hunan province
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At least 27 people are dead and eight remain missing as heavy rain since June 22 inundated central China's Hunan Province.
The rain over the past two weeks hardly showed signs of abating, clocking an average daily rainfall of 270 millimeters.
The floods affected more than 11 million people across hundreds of villages and towns, and caused a direct economic loss of about 30 billion yuan (nearly 4.4 million US dollars).
Preliminary investigations showed nearly 880,000 hectares of crops were severely damaged and nearly 39,000 houses collapsed.
Up to 15,000 officers and soldiers are currently involved in emergency rescue and disaster relief work.
The rain is expected to ease across the region in the coming days, but sporadic rainstorms are still imminent.