Recent bouts of heavy rain in Guizhou province have caused widespread damage in 15 counties there.
More than 137,000 residents in the province have been affected by the fatal downpours, causing 1,207 people to be evacuated to safe areas, according to the Guizhou Bureau of Civil Affairs.
The bureau estimated that the rains have damaged more than 6,000 hectares of crops, caused 192 houses to collapse and 44 households to be seriously damaged. The cost of the damage has been put at 177 million yuan ($ 26.92 million). This includes loss in agricultural revenues, family property, infrastructure and public welfare facilities.
The heavy rainfalls have brought about serious floods, landslides and debris flows in seven other provinces, leaving 42 people dead or missing and 3.695 million affected nationwide.
A yellow alert was released by the National Meteorological Center for heavy rainfall for a vast area along the Yangtze River and Southwestern areas including Guizhou, Sichuan and Hubei provinces.
Government departments are engaged in coordinated efforts to provide relief, aid distribution and rescues.
Edited by Yang Fan and Jacob Hooson
