At least 12 dead after storms across China

At least 12 people died after heavy storms across China over the weekend, local authorities said Monday.

In southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, five people died after heavy rain since Saturday resulted in rivers bursting their banks and flash floods.

The flood control and drought relief headquarters in Chongqing said1,197 people had been displaced, and 66 houses destroyed.

In neighboring Sichuan Province, four people died Sunday after heavy rain and the ensuing landslides caused their houses to collapse.

Yongning River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, saw its biggest flood in 80 years, with the water rising 1.43 meters above the safety line.

Three people lost their lives in east China's Anhui Province, also as a result of collapsed houses. The search for a missing child in Susong County continues, according to the civil affairs department of the province.

The county was hit by heavy rain from Saturday morning, ruining 26,900 hectares of crops, destroying 266 houses and forcing 16,000 people to relocate.

In Guizhou Province, rescuers are trying to extract eight trapped miners from a coal mine shaft, which was flooded after torrential rain on Sunday.

South China's Hunan Province estimates that direct economic losses are in the region of 73 million yuan (about 11 million U.S. dollars). Endi