Following heavy rain yesterday morning which caused serious flooding more than 4,000 people were evacuated from Yichun City in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

 

According to the Yichun City Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters heavy rain hit the city on Tuesday afternoon and by 9 PM that evening 112 mm had fallen.

 

The sudden rainstorm resulted in landslides in the northern part of the city and caused serious flooding in the Xinqing, Hongxing and Wuying districts, according to the flood control headquarters.

 

Statistics from the headquarters show that over 4,300 households in the three districts were flooded with the water exceeding one meter in some areas. Evacuation of trapped residents got underway on Tuesday night. No casualties had been reported at press time.

 

The landslides also damaged several sections of railway line and left about 1,000 passengers stranded. Repairs to the lines began immediately but the service between Yichun-Wuyiling has not yet resumed.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2006)