At least 22 people were killed as heavy rain and flash floods tore through seven provinces in southwestern and central China this week, displacing tens of thousands of residents, Chinese state media reported.
Described by state media as the most intense storm to hit China this year, the system began on Friday and deposited as much as 12 inches of rain across the affected provinces over roughly five days. In Fangchenggang, a coastal city near Vietnam, total rainfall reached about 32 inches, Xinhua reported.
Among the hardest-hit areas was Hunan, a mountainous province in southern China, where the provincial government reported that more than 31,000 people had to be evacuated and at least five residents died, with 11 others unaccounted for, according to The Times. Chinese authorities activated a national disaster relief response for the Hunan flooding.
Ten people lost their lives in Guangxi, a southern region that shares a border with Vietnam, after a vehicle went off a bridge and into a river, Xinhua reported. People's Daily reported that Guizhou, in China's southwest, recorded four deaths and five people unaccounted for. State broadcaster CCTV put the toll in the central province of Hubei at three dead and four missing.
