Floods have forced around 286,000 people to flee their homes in northwestern China, where steady rainfall since late September has strained the banks of the Hanjiang and Weihe rivers, the China Daily reported on Friday, according to Reuters. The rising water levels along tributaries to China's two top rivers, the Yangtze and the Yellow river, affected over 3 million people in Shaanxi province and flooding on the Weihe river is said to be the most severe since 1981, the paper reported. It did not report any deaths, although late-August floods in the same area killed six. Summer flooding is common in China and claims thousands of lives each year, although officials say the season is now drawing to an end. The problem is compounded by deforestation as rains trigger rock slides and mud flows off bare mountainsides. The Xinhua news agency said in late August that summer floods had killed at least 1,024 people, left 293 missing and caused almost 103 billion yuan ($12.7 billion) in direct losses.
