Downpours wreak havoc across China

Rainstorms since the weekend have ravaged many parts of China, including the capital city of Beijing where the heaviest rain in 60 years caused 37 deaths.

Torrential rain has swept through 17 provincial areas since July 20, leaving 111 dead and another 47 missing, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Tuesday.

Natural disasters caused by the downpours had affected about 6.23 million people in 264 counties in 17 provincial areas and forced the evacuation of about 567,000 residents, the ministry said in a statement.

Rainstorms also destroyed 29,000 houses and damaged another 55,000.

In Hebei province, 17 people have been confirmed dead and 21 others remain missing in rain-triggered disasters as of Monday afternoon,the provincial civil affairs bureau said.

The bureau said the rain brought floods and hail to 56 counties, leading to the relocation of 155,500 people so far.

Downpours also disrupted train services in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region as railway lines were flooded Monday afternoon.

Ten passenger trains were stranded on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway and the Southern Xinjiang Railway Monday afternoon.

In Sichuan province, water levels in several rivers have exceeded the warning levels and the Luzhou section in the upper reach of the Yangtze River has witnessed the biggest flooding since 1949, according to the provincial flood control headquarters.

In addition, cities of Yibin and Luzhou have been flooded by 2-meter-deep water. About 150,000 people have to be relocated, said the headquarters.

Due to the downpours on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the Three Gorges Reservoir, upstream of the gigantic Three Gorges hydropower project in Yichang, Hubei province, may see the biggest flood peak on Tuesday, said Wu Daoxi, an official of the river's flood control headquarters.

The influx of water into the reservoir is expected to reach 70,000 cubic meters per second on Tuesday, rising from 50,000 cubic meters per second on Monday afternoon, Wu said.

To cope with the upcoming flood peak, the headquarters has increased the water volume discharged by the reservoir several times, reaching 43,000 cubic meters per second early Monday morning, Wu said.

In southwest China's Chongqing municipality, nearly 300,000 people from nine districts and counties had been affected by rainstorms as of Saturday. More than 8,000 of them have been relocated to safe places. It is expected that the flood peak of the Yangtze River will reach downtown Chongqing at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

In southwest China's Yunnan province, six people have been killed and two remain missing following a heavy rainstorm that hit the city of Zhaotong on Saturday night, a municipal government spokesperson said Monday.

Nearly 130,000 people in 38 towns in Zhaotong were affected by the downpour.

Continuous rains have battered the northwest China's Shaanxi province since Friday, which killed one person and left another 16 missing in Fugu county in the city of Yulin as of Monday.

The round of rainstorms have affected 88,600 people in five cities in Shaanxi to date, the provincial flood control headquarters said on Monday.

The provincial government has sent rescue teams to the county, searching for the 16 missing. About 6,500 local residents were relocated to escape possible geological hazards triggered by the heavy rains, headquarters said.

The heaviest rain in six decades lashed the Chinese capital on Saturday, with the average precipitation reaching 170 mm while a township in the suburban district of Fangshan recording 460 mm of rain.

The downpours submerged power supply facilities and led to blackouts in parts of the city.

Also, many scenic spots in suburban Beijing had suffered various degrees of damages. On Monday, repairs had began and both the municipal and district governments will earmark funds for the work, said Lu Yong, director of Beijing Tourism Development Commission.

A positive outcome of the downpour is that reservoirs in the thirsty city are now full again, according to Beijing's flood control and drought relief headquarters.