Over 150 Dead, Millions Evacuated After Catastrophic Flooding Hits China, Pakistan

Associated Press
Published: July 5,2016
Catastrophic floods have taken more than 150 lives in China and Pakistan this weekend after days of heavy rain.
In China, 128 have been killed and another 42 people have been reported missing according to figures released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, China.org.cn reports.
A mudslide in Guizhou Province killed 23, state media told the BBC. Eight more people died in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province when a section of a wall collapsed.
About 18 inches of rain fell in Macheng, China, in the four days ending 8 a.m. local time on Monday, said weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce.
The rain collapsed more than 40,000 houses and forced the evacuation of nearly 1.5 million people in 11 regions, mostly along the Yangtze River and its distributaries, China.org.cn reports, and nearly 600,000 people are in urgent need of basic living assistance.
The rain has also destroyed more than 700,000 acres of crops, the Xinhua news agency repoorts.  Floods and landslides are also affecting telecommunication and electricity facilities, halting or delaying traffic in some regions. The ministry estimated total economic losses of $5.73 billion.
State television on Saturday showed people using boats to navigate flooded streets in eastern Anhui province. Anhui's civil affairs department said 18 people have died and four are missing due to heavy rain since June 18.
Vice Premier Wang Yang warned last month that there was a high possibility of floods in the Yangtze River and Huai River basins this year, which equate to a large swath of China's southern, central and eastern areas.

(MORE: China Tornado Kills 98, Injures 800)
In Pakistan, heavy monsoon rains and flash floods have claimed at least 30 lives and washed away a mosque and several houses in Ursoon, an area of Chitral.
Thirteen people are still missing in Chitral,  the district’s deputy commissioner Usama Waraich told Gulf News, adding that authorities were evacuating some residents with more rain forecast Monday.
The mayor of Chitral district, Maghfirat Shah said the flash flooding hit as people were offering up special Ramadan prayers at the mosque. Dozens of worshippers were swept away in the floodwaters, which destroyed the mosque and damaged several nearby houses and a security post.
Afghan authorities also said they had recovered 13 bodies, including eight Pakistani soldiers, which had been swept over the border from Chitral into Afghanistan, Gulf News said.
The provincial chief minister, Pervez Khattak, expressed his grief over the tragedy and announced that the families would receive compensation of $300 for each loss of life. He said that he had given orders for disaster management officials to quickly provide the affected communities with tents, food, medicine and other relief goods.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.