29 killed, 16 missing in rainfall-triggered disasters in China's Hebei

SHIJIAZHUANG, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- As of Thursday, 29 people had been killed in disasters triggered by the recent round of heavy rain in north China's Hebei Province, while 16 people remained missing, local authorities said on Friday.

According to a press conference held on Friday morning, torrential downpours and severe flooding have wreaked havoc across 110 counties, cities and districts in the province.

Infrastructure including transportation, power, communication and water facilities in the disaster-stricken areas suffered damage. The province had incurred a direct economic loss of 95.81 billion yuan (about 13.38 billion U.S. dollars), and the overall extent of the disaster was still being assessed and verified.

As of Thursday, the flooding had affected an estimated 3.89 million people. A total of 319,700 hectares of crops had been affected, with 131,500 hectares demolished.

Residential areas also suffered losses, with 40,900 houses having collapsed, while 155,500 houses were severely damaged. A total of 1,150 primary and secondary schools, along with kindergartens, suffered damage.