Very Heavy Rain in Henan, 53 Killed, 20 Missing

At least 52 peoples were killed and 20 others missing as a result of floods caused by heavy rainfall in Henan Province, central China.

Heavy rains flushed the mountainous area in western and southern provinces from July 23 to 25. This has caused great damage in the three cities, Luoyang, Nanyang, and Sanmenxia.

Among those killed, 37 peoples from the city of Luoyang, the capital of ancient China, the world heritage site, Longmen Grottoes. High rainfall that resulted in 18.3 millions people in the region along the Yangtze.

Data on the number of deaths incurred by the Flood Control Department including victims of lightning strikes.

"Floods also destroyed 39 000 houses, 755 000 peoples were evacuated, 974 000 hectares of paddy fields ready for harvest were destroyed, and property loss reached 10.6 billions yuan (1.57 billion U.S. dollars)," said a spokesman for the national flood control, Monday (26 / 7 / 2010).

According to flood control department, on weekends, the volume of water in some lakes and dams in the valley of the River Yangtzi start rising again.

"Level of water in Poyang Lake, Jiangxi Province, was one centimeter below the level of danger, while the Dongting Lake, Hunan Province, recorded 1.01 meters below the level of danger," he said.

Flood Control Office of the Deputy Director Chen Lei said it continues to monitor the water situation in these lakes, including the installation of facilities for hydroelectric power, to prevent greater damage.