Mud and rock flows and flooding caused by relentless downpours over the past few days have claimed eight lives and left five people missing in Shangluo City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, local government sources said yesterday.

The rainstorms caused flooding in nine local reservoirs, destroyed 112 bridges and tunnels and 2,875 kilometers of highways, according to the city's flood control department, and damaged 24 kilometers of electricity lines and five kilometers of telecommunications lines, cutting off traffic, power and communications to 22 towns in the city's jurisdiction.

Landslides and mud and rock flows were caused at 727 sites and threatened the safety of 20,000 people and their property. Also seriously damaged were 22,678 hectares of crops, and buildings in 135 primary and middle schools, according to the flood control department.

Rainstorm-caused disasters affected 880,000 people in 160 towns of the city, where 6,959 houses were flattened and more than 30,000 people evacuated to safe places.

Economic losses were estimated by the local government to be 340 million yuan (US$42 million).

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2005)