The death toll from flooding and landslides in mountainous southwestern China rose to 177 on Thursday, as authorities warned beleaguered residents to brace for fresh storms. A week of torrential rains has claimed 102 lives in Sichuan province, and another 75 in neighboring Chongqing. A total of 50 people are missing in the two areas, located about 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) southwest of Beijing. The disasters have affected about 11 million people, with hundreds of thousands evacuated and about 10,000 sick or injured in Sichuan alone. With more than 300,000 homes damaged, direct losses to crops and the local economy were estimated at 3.9 billion yuan (US$470 million; euro 385 million).
