Heavy rain in N. China leaves 164 dead

Heavy rain battering north and northeast China last week left 164 people dead with another 125 missing, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

As of 9:00 a.m. Monday, rain had affected more than 14.76 million people in 10 provincial-level regions, including the hardest hit provinces of Henan and Hebei, forcing the relocation of 514,000 people. Nearly 125,000 people are in urgent need of basic living assistance.

Some 126,000 houses collapsed and 344,000 houses were damaged to varying degrees. Floods also affected 1.18 million hectares of crops. Total direct economic losses were estimated at 31.14 billion yuan (4.7 billion U.S. dollars). Endi