Nearly 1.9 million people in east China's Shandong province have been affected by heavy rains since July 29, local authorities said Wednesday. Downpours have battered the eastern province since last Sunday, killing two people, according to the provincial civil affairs department. In the city of Dezhou, heavy rains have affected more than 1.23 million residents and caused direct economic losses of 650 million yuan (102 million U.S. dollars), Xinhua quoted the civil affairs department of Dezhou as saying. According to statistics released by the department, 137,500 hectares of crops have been damaged and 2,213 houses have been destroyed. A total of 6,200 residents in Pingyuan county of Dezhou have been relocated to avoid possible natural disasters triggered by rainstorms.
