From Tibet to Beijing, China threatened by massive rainfall

[senorpepr]

BEIJING (AFP) - Massive rainfall is threatening large parts of China from Tibet in the southwest to Beijing at the other end of the huge country, with thousands already evacuated because of floods, state media said.

Rainfall that is double the usual amount at this time of the year has so far cost the lives of three Tibetans, including two teenagers who were swept away by a flash flood, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Throughout the Tibetan area, officials are preparing for floods, spurred on by reports that parts of the capital Lhasa have seen precipitation hit record highs, according to the agency.

In northwestern Shaanxi province, rainstorms left scenes of destruction in several localities, including Fufeng county where four people were reported killed.

A woman also lost her life in Shaanxi's Zhenping county after she was crushed under a collapsing house, Xinhua reported.

In central Henan province, flooding was reported along the banks of the Huai river, causing the evacuation of 60,000 people from low-lying areas threatened by inundation, the Beijing Morning Post said.

Heightened alert was also recorded in Beijing and adjacent areas, such as the major port city of Tianjin, as a rain belt was moving to the northern part of China, Xinhua reported.

In the Xinjiang region, bordering on Central Asia and mostly inhabited by Muslims, the Central Meteorological Station warned of possible "disasters" including floods and landslides after unusually heavy rain, the agency said.

The Chinese government said last week that 555 people have lost their lives so far this year in floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides and mudflows.

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