Rain-triggered landslides in eastern and southern China have killed at least 41 people since Sunday, according to local officials. The death toll in the eastern province of Fujian rose to 31 Saturday afternoon after six more bodies were found after a landslide in Gaosha Town, Shaxian County, Xinhua reported. As of 4:30 p.m., 12 of the 19 missing people were found dead and the other seven survived, after a landslide struck Gaosha Town of Shaxian County, in Sanming City of eastern Fujian Province, at about 5:35 p.m. Friday, a spokesman from the Sanming municipal government said. Landslides have also left three missing in Fujian. In neighboring Zhejiang Province, nine people died Friday in two landslides. In southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a lumberjack was killed and six others are missing after a landslide hit a work shed in a village in Rongshui County early Friday. The Ministry of Civil Affairs said that by 4 p.m. Friday, the heavy rains that began pounding south China Sunday have left 69 dead, 44 missing and forced the evacuation of 493,000 people in Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces as well as in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The rainstorms have caused economic losses of 6.5 billion yuan (952 million U.S. dollars), the ministry said. The torrential downpours have also triggered flash floods, caused rivers to swell, inundated crops, and disrupted traffic and telecommunications.
