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GUIYANG/NANCHANG, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Rain and hail have brought havoc to several Chinese provinces, causing casualties and economic losses.
Floods in Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Guizhou left one dead and five missing. More than 11,000 people were relocated and 4,900 people received emergency aid, such as food and drinking water, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The ministry estimates that the weather front caused economic losses of 420 million yuan (64 million U.S. dollars).
Torrential rain has left five people missing in southwest China's Guizhou Province. Storms had forced nearly 4,000 residents to temporarily relocate as of Saturday. The rain damaged more than 520 hectares of crops and over 360 houses collapsed. Direct economic loss reached over 31 million yuan, said a statement by the local civil affairs department, who have allocated 4 million yuan for disaster relief. Tents, camp beds and quilts were sent affected areas.
Rain battered neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Saturday and Sunday, causing direct economic losses of 16.4 million yuan. More storms are expected in next four days.
In east China's Jiangxi Province, more than 260 teachers and students were trapped in a primary school by flooding on Sunday and relocated to safer places.
Hail in north China disrupted the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, causing the death of one person. Hail in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Sunday accumulated on the road to a depth of more than 10 cm in some places with some hailstones three centimeters in diameter, according to the provincial meteorological station.
