Floods leave 742 dead in China
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Floods in China this year have left 742 people dead and 367 missing as of 9:00 a.m. Friday, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said.
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Dark clouds cover the sky and cast a gloom over the Yangtze River in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province July 22, 2010. [CFP] |
![Dark clouds cover the sky and cast a gloom over the Yangtze River in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province July 22, 2010. [CFP]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20100723/00016c8b5de00db39e7c39.jpg "Dark clouds cover the sky and cast a gloom over the Yangtze River in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province July 22, 2010. [CFP]")
Floods have hit 28 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, affecting 120 million people and 7.60 million hectares of crops, a statement on the headquarter's website said.
The floods have caused the collapse of 670,000 homes and resulted in direct economic losses of 152.4 billion yuan (22.51 billion U.S. dollars).
The headquarters has dispatched work teams to Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces to coordinate flood-fighting efforts.
Typhoons are exacerbating the floods.
Typhoon Chanthu, the third of the summer, was downgraded to a tropical storm at 2 a.m. Friday.
Chanthu affected about 1.36 million residents, killing two and toppling 2,915 houses. It also caused direct economic losses of 2.4 billion yuan (354.51 million U.S. dollars).
