14 die due to rains in China

At least 14 people died and 72 went missing as torrential rainfall continued in China's Hebei province, according to the civil affairs bureau.

About 7,100 houses collapsed due to floods and landslides since Wednesday morning. So far, 123,000 persons have been evacuated over safety concerns, Xinhua news agency cited the National Commission for Disaster Relief as saying.

Work groups and relief goods including tents, quilts and footwear were sent to the worst hit cities of Handan, Xingtai and Shijiazhuang.

Rains across China since June have resulted in heavy casualties, while a powerful tornado in Jiangsu province on June 23 left around 100 people dead.

Torrential rains across the country prompted the Met department to issue an Orange alert on Wednesday, the second-highest of its four-tier weather warning system.

--IANS

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