Toll rises to 105 in China rains

Beijing, July 23 (IANS) At least 105 persons were killed and 104 others are reported missing due to heavy torrential rains in north China's Hebei Province, the authorities said on Saturday.

The local government in Jingxing county has evacuated nearly 310,000 people and allocated 105 million yuan (about $15 million) for the worst hit places to help with the relief work, Xinhua news agency reported.

There have been power outages, disruptions to communication and other infrastructure, and road closures across Jingxing.

Flooding and rain triggered landslides have caused the collapse of more than 52,000 houses and destroyed 700,000 hectares of crops, leading to direct economic losses of over 15 billion yuan (about $2.2 billion).