Heavy rains batter China

Torrential rains in China over two days since Wednesday have disrupted the lives of thousands of people and caused heavy economic losses, media reports said.

Storms in Jiangxi province on Wednesday afternoon led to flooding in capital Nanchang and brought serious traffic jams to the city on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

With tracks flooded across Jiangxi, the Nanchang Railway Bureau cancelled six trains.

The storm left 1,800 people in need of relocation and in the city of Jiujiang a senior citizen drowned as she attempted to cross a bridge.

Provincial weather forecasters warned resident to expect more storms throughout the month.

In Hubei province, the rain forced 2,813 people to be evacuated and damaged more than 26,000 hectares of crops, resulting in direct economic losses of more than 400 million yuan ($61 million).

A section of the Yichang-Wanzhou railway was damaged by flooding with 39 trains cancelled.

The line is expected to reopen on Saturday.

--IANS

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