Twenty people died and 42 were missing after mudslides hit southwest China's Yunnan Province over the weekend, said local authorities.

The disasters hit Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, and four counties and a district of the provincial capital Kunming, the provincial civil affairs department said.

More than 1,000 houses collapsed or were damaged in the disasters.

Tents, quilts and clothes were being transported to the areas. The casualties and damages were also being assessed.

(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2008)