[drlifeech]

Flooding causes China bridge to collapse, killing 37

27 Jul 2010 04:30:28 GMT
Source: Reuters

BEIJING, July 27 (Reuters) - A flood-swollen river caused a village bridge to collapse in central China, killing at least 37 people, and officials warned the region to prepare for more rains this week, media reported on Tuesday.

Another 19 people were still missing, the local Dahe newspaper reported on its website, www.dahe.cn, after a 153-meter-long bridge in mountainous Luanchuan county in the central province of Henan collapsed on Saturday afternoon.

Most of the people on the bridge were tossed into the river, raging after weeks of torrential rains, but six people were rescued, according to the report. Three days of heavy rains in the province have killed 52 people, including those on the bridge, and left 20 missing, the website said in a separate report, adding that nearly 200,000 people have had to be relocated.

Also on Tuesday, the Xinhua news agency said 21 people were missing after rains triggered a landslide in southwestern Sichuan province. More than 750 people are reported to have died in floods and landslides in China this year, with hundreds of others still missing.

China typically faces heavy rains and flooding at this time of year, but damage and casualties this season have been worse than usual. During a weekend tour to flood-hit areas of Hubei and Anhui provinces, Premier Wen Jiabao called the flood-control situation "critical" and urged local officials to prepare for more heavy rains forecast in coming days.

(Reporting by Huang Yan and Ken Wills; editing by Andrew Marshall)

[drlifeech]

A boy plays on the flooded banks of the Yangtze River in Wuhan, Hubei province July 27, 2010. Heavy rains have pounded large swaths of central and southern China lately, flooding riverside towns, causing landslides and mud flows and raising key rivers to dangerous levels,
according to the Xinhua News Agency. REUTERS/Stringer Shanghai




People look at the site of a rain-triggered landslide in Shuanghe village July 27, 2010. Twenty-one people were missing after the landslide, triggered by recent torrential rains on Tuesday morning, hit Shuanghe village in Hanyuan county, Sichuan province, Xinhua News Agency reported.




Residents cry after a rain-triggered landslide buried their relatives in Shuanghe village July 27, 2010. Twenty-one people were missing after the landslide, triggered by recent torrential rains on Tuesday morning, hit Shuanghe village in Hanyuan county, Sichuan province, Xinhua News Agency reported. REUTERS/Stringer

[drlifeech]

Damaged houses are seen after a rain-triggered landslide hit Shuanghe village in Hanyuan county, Sichuan province, July 27, 2010. Twenty-one people were missing after the landslide, triggered by recent torrential rains, hit Shuanghe village on Tuesday morning, Xinhua News Agency reported. REUTERS/Stringer




Damaged houses are seen after a rain-triggered landslide hit Shuanghe village in Hanyuan county, Sichuan province, July 27, 2010. Twenty-one people were missing after the landslide, triggered by recent torrential rains, hit villages in Hanyuan County, southwest China' Sichuan Province on Tuesday morning, Xinhua News Agency reported. REUTERS/Stringer




Three days of heavy rains in the province have killed 52 people, including those on the bridge, and left 20 missing,
the website said in a separate report, adding that nearly 200,000 people have had to be relocated. -- PHOTO: AP