The death toll from heavy rains that caused flooding in central China’s Henan province has risen to 33 people, with eight more missing, the local emergency services department said on Thursday.

More than 3 million people remain in 103 communities in the disaster-hit area, some 256,000 people have been displaced, the authorities added. The area of agricultural land affected by the disaster is estimated at about 215,000 hectares, with direct economic damage estimated at 1.22 billion yuan.

Earlier the state media reported 25 people dead and seven missing.

“The city of Zhengzhou suffered the most from the natural disaster. Some weather stations in the city recorded a historic record of average daily precipitation, which led to overflow of reservoirs, which eventually destroyed several dams in the region, causing even more damage.”

Full story: sputniknews.com

By Kirill Kurevlev
Sputnik International