Twelve people were killed and one was missing in a rainstorm in central China's Hubei Province, provincial officials said Saturday.
As of 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the rainstorm, which lasted for three days, has ravaged 28 counties in the province, involving a population of 391,900.
Ten out of the 12 dead were hit by thunders and lightnings. One people missing was washed away by the flood.
Sources with the provincial civil affairs bureau said that about 2,158 victims had been relocated so far.
Nearly 3,118 out of 24,862 hectares of damaged crops were completely destroyed. A total of 1,178 houses were toppled by the rainstorm, with another 5,784 damaged.
To remedy the situation, local government has sent disaster-relief materials to the hit-areas. Shengnongjia, a forestry district, for instance has received 300 beds and 500 clothes.
The disaster relief work is proceeding. Economic losses are still being reviewed.
(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2009)
