33 dead, 14 missing in rain-triggered natural disasters

Rainstorm-triggered natural disasters have wreaked havoc in 21 provincial-level regions in China since July 3, leaving at least 33 dead and another 14 missing, the National Commission for Disaster Reduction said Monday.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, the commission had reported nine people dead and 11 missing in southwest China's Sichuan Province, seven fatalities and two missing in neighboring Yunnan Province, four deaths in central China's Hubei Province and three losses of life in east China's Anhui Province.

A further ten fatalities were also reported in Beijing, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, and provinces of Hebei, Heilongjiang, Shandong and Gansu. One person is also missing in Helongjiang Province.

Since July 3, natural disasters caused by downpours have affected about 6.75 million people in 284 counties, districts or prefecture-level cities across China, according to the commission.