At least 30 people have now died as a result of the powerful storms which continue to batter East China.

Torrential rain has swept Anhui and Jiangsu provinces since the end of June, affecting more than 13 million people.

Jiangsu is thought to be the hardest hit, with 8.9 million people affected by the storms, which have hit northern and central parts of the province since June 30.

Xuzhou, Huai'an and Yancheng have even been struck by tornadoes.

"So far, 27 people are reported dead, nearly 40,000 have been evacuated, and more than 8,400 houses have collapsed," said Zhao Jie, an official in charge of disaster relief with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, in a telephone interview.

Anhui has also been assaulted by heavy rain and flooding.

The province has experienced continuous rain since June 28, resulting in three deaths and more than 4.12 million people affected, said Wang Haili, an official with the provincial civil affairs department.

More than 25,400 residents now face a shortage of drinking water and total damage amounts to 810 million yuan (US$101 million).

The province has launched a natural disaster emergency response mechanism, sending working groups to flood-hit areas, mostly regions near the flood-prone Huaihe River, to organize flood prevention and relief operations.

By yesterday, at least 44,400 people had been displaced, said Wang.

In addition, Sichuan, Henan and Shandong provinces have also been hit by rainstorms since the end of June.

Torrential rain will continue sweep across the provinces over the next couple of days, the Central Meteorological Office warned yesterday.

In another development, the bodies of five railway workers, missing since a landslide in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday afternoon, were found yesterday morning.

The find brought the landslide's total death toll to 10.

Caused by torrential rain streaming down from nearby mountains, the landslide struck a railway bridge on the Lanzhou-Urumqi Railway in Turpan Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang Tuesday afternoon, killing five workers instantly and leaving one other injured.

Normal services were restored on the railway yesterday.

Source: China Daily