Downpours kill at least 14 in China

BEIJING - Downpours and consequent flooding and landslide that hit various regions across China have left at least 14 people dead and several others missing, local authorities said on Sunday.

Torrential rains and hail that suddenly lashed Erdos City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Sunday afternoon killed at least eight people and left another missing, sources with the local government said.

The severe convective weather started around 3:10 p.m. in Dongsheng District, where some residential houses have been inundated and road traffic affected severely.

In east China's Anhui Province, four people have died and four others are buried under houses that collapsed due to flooding triggered by downpours on Sunday, local authorities said.

The floods that hit Huangshan City have also left two people missing, according to a statement from the city's flood control center.

Also on Sunday, flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rain have killed two people and left five others missing in southwestern Sichuan Province.

Search and rescue efforts are under way to reach those who are missing.

China's meteorological authority forecast on Sunday that heavy rain will hit some regions in the north and Sichuan Province from Sunday to Tuesday.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) said heavy rain or rainstorms will pelt the central and eastern part of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and some regions in north China and northeast China.

Some of those regions may also see downpours, thunderstorms or hails, the center said.

The central and western part of the Sichuan basin will witness heavy rain from 100 to 200 millimeters, while some parts will have rainfall of up to 300 millimeters.

The NMC also said that the Rumbia, the sixth tropical storm to hit China this year, will head towards Guangdong and Hainan provinces as its force strengthens after entering the eastern part of South China Sea around midday Sunday.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said Saturday that the storm may come ashore in Guangdong on Monday night or Tuesday, and it may also be felt in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and provinces of Hainan, Hunan and Guizhou.

The headquarters urged local authorities to enhance monitoring, issue early warnings, timely evacuate residents in the threatened areas and call back fishing boats to port.