Torrential rains in this flood season have killed five people and affected some 1.27 million people in northeast China's Jilin Province, causing a direct loss of 2.24 billion yuan (about US$271 million), according to the provincial flood control headquarters on Thursday.

Statistics from Jilin Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters show that heavy rain affected 252 towns from 38 counties of the province, flattening 5,287 houses and destroying about 354,900 hectares of crops.

About 192.6 km of road and 11 km of railway were affected by floods. Telecommunication and electricity transmission were disrupted in some parts of the province.

In addition, three large and medium-sized reservoirs and 44 small reservoirs were impaired. Direct losses reached 293 million yuan (about US$35 million) in industrial transportation and 347 million yuan (about US$42 million) in water conservancy devices, according to the Headquarters.

By 8:00 AM Wednesday, the average rainfall in Jilin Province topped 203.3 millimeters, up 67 percent from the average of the same period in the past years.
 
(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2005)