One dead, 27 injured by rainstorm in central China

BEIJING, July 24 -- A recent rainstorm in Yunxi County, central China's Hubei province, has killed 1 people, injured 27 others and affected some 22,000 residents, said Yunxi government office on Thursday.

Statistics showed that the rainfall, from Tuesday morning until Wednesday, reached 79 millimeters in 3 hours. Six villages and towns were severely damaged by the rainstorm, resulting in over 1,700 hectares of farmland flooded, 6,000 houses damaged, 107 houses toppled down and serious destruction in infrastructure.

The government of Yunxi County immediately took measures to fight against the flood. To date, 160 people living in the areas near reservoir have been evacuated. Some 30 tents, 200 pieces of clothes and quilts and 100,000 yuan (about 15,000 U.S. dollars) were delivered there by civil administration department. The rainstorm-hit areas were sanitized thoroughly by health and epidemic prevention authorities. Relief works still go on in the county.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Wuhan. (XHTV)