Flash floods in China have left at least 154 people dead, 124 missing and many more injured, with hundreds of thousands forced to evacuate their homes.
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Some 250,000 people were unable to leave the city of Tianmen in the central province, official news agency Xinhua reported the local government as saying.
China’s worst flooding since 1998 may cut third-quarter growth by as much as 0.2 percentage points, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.
At least 105 people are dead and 104 missing across Hebei province and local authorities have evacuated almost 310,000 people.
Officials said 25 people were killed.
Some residents also claimed that Wednesday’s flood, which struck while villagers were sleeping, was man-made although officials say a levee in a nearby river had broken.
Angry residents have blamed local officials for failing to warn them of the severe weather in advance. Photos circulating online showed disturbing images of drowned children lying in mud.
Torrential rain has swept through China over the last week, with a flash flood near the town of Xingtai in Hebei province killing at least 23 people and leaving 13 others unaccounted for.
Although removed from social media by Saturday morning – apparently by censors – the postings had already caused a national uproar, with members of the public demanding accountability from local authorities. He promised a thorough investigation and said any officials found to be negligent would be held responsible.
About 8.6 million people have been affected by the flooding, according to state media and local government reports.
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Over 52,000 houses have been collapsed, 1.60 lakh houses damaged over seven lakh hectares of crops destroyed and direct economic losses of over 15 billion yuan ($2.2 billion).
