At least 31 people died and nine more were missing after heavy rainstorms hit southwest China, state media reported Tuesday. Xinhua News Agency said 17 people were killed and three others were missing after the torrential rains in Sichuan province in the last several days. The 17 victims were from Yibin city, with most dying in landslides, it said. Rainstorms also triggered floods and landslides that ravaged Zhaotong city in the south of neighboring Yunnan province, killing 14 people and leaving six others missing. Xinhua said 533 homes were destroyed in the city. Summer is China's peak rainy season. Flooding has claimed 1,138 lives in China so far this year, Vice Minister of Water Resources E. Jingping told a news conference Tuesday. An additional 210 people were missing.
