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China braces for more floods as rains continue

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Drenched riverside towns in central and southern parts of China on Monday prepared for even more flooding as water levels in the country's huge rivers surged and rainstorms continued.

A worker cleans garbage in river channel in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, July 26, 2010. The Chongqing section of the Yangtze River and Jialingjiang River met the second flood peak of this flood season Monday. [Xinhua]

In its latest update, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said floods this year had left 823 people dead and another 437 missing as of Monday morning.

The direct economic loss had mounted to 154.1 billion yuan, more than double that of previous flood losses incurred in any single year since 2000.

Premier Wen Jiabao has urged local authorities to fully prepare for more floods and related disasters.

More than 370,000 soldiers and residents now have been mobilized to beef up the flood prevention efforts in eight provinces and municipalities along the country's major rivers, the flood control headquarters said.

SOUTHWEST MUD FLOWS

Mud flows hit a remote riverside village in the southwestern province of Yunnan bordering Myanmar early Monday, leaving 11 people missing and another 11 injured, local officials reported.

The village, located in Drung-Nu Autonomous County of Gongshan near the region's key waterway Nujiang River, is very difficult to reach after rain-triggered landslides and mud flows blocked the mountainous trails, frustrating rescue efforts.

Officials with the regional Lisu Autonomous Prefecture of Nujiang government said they were as yet unable to reach the injured.

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