42 dead, 74 missing in central, north China storms

SHIJIAZHUANG, July 20, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A car drives on a waterlogged road in Shijiazhuang,  capital city of north China's Hebei Province, July 20, 2016. A heavy rain hit the middle and southern  areas of Hebei Province in last three days. Precipitation in many cities including Handan, Xingtai and  Shijiazhuang reached 630 mm. (Xinhua/Wang Xiao) SHIJIAZHUANG/ZHENGZHOU, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Rainstorms have caused severe disruptions across north and central China since Wednesday morning, causing casualties, traffic chaos and the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people. Torrential rain in north China's Hebei Province since Wednesday morning has left 30  people dead and 68 missing, according to the provincial civil affairs department on  Thursday. About 163,900 people have been forced to leave their homes. The department has received reports of floods and landslides damaging more than 47,713  houses and 354,600 hectares of crops, causing traffic chaos, power outages and wreaking  havoc with communications. As of Thursday noon, direct economic losses from the rain-triggered disaster reached 4.75 billion yuan(711 million U.S. dollars). Relief supplies including tents, quilts and clothing have been distributed in the worst-hit  cities including Handan, Xingtai and the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang. In neighboring Henan Province, 12 people were confirmed dead with six unaccounted for,  the provincial flood control headquarters said. Storms forced the evacuation of 105,000  people, levelled 2,110 homes and damaged 20,720 hectares of crops. The extreme weather caused two dikes to collapse in the city of Anyang on Wednesday. Soldiers and rescue workers are attempting to close the breach. The direct economic losses in Henan are estimated at 477 million yuan. The National Commission for Disaster Relief and the Ministry of Civil Affairs have sent  staff to assist the relief work.