Tropical storm Bilis faded yesterday but the death toll across the country continued to rise, hitting 204. Lingering rain triggered landslides that swept away homes, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The latest deaths occurred in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Tuesday, when landslides swept through Qinzhou killing 13 people including three children and an elderly woman, Xinhua said. The deaths brought the toll in Guangxi to 25. Hardest-hit was the inland province of Hunan, where at least 92 people have been killed since Friday. Elsewhere, 43 people have been killed in coastal Fujian Province and 44 in neighboring Guangdong.

The storm was dying down as it moved west to Guizhou and Yunnan provinces in south China, Xinhua said. But fierce heat is expected to follow in the coming week, with temperatures expected to reach 40?℃? in Hunan and 39?℃? in Fujian.

Losses of 8 billion yuan (US$1 billion) were estimated for Guangdong and 3 billion yuan (US$375 million) for Fujian. In poverty-stricken Guangxi, officials said the storm had cost 1.21 billion yuan (US$151 million). No figure was given for losses in Hunan.

(China Daily July 20, 2006)