Continuous rainstorm has been slamming a prefecture in the central Hubei province since Friday and affected more than 200,000 people. But no casualties have been reported, Xinhua quoted a local civil affairs department spokesman as saying. The rainstorm, the worst in 21 years in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, has flattened 126 houses, destroyed crops on 17,700 hectares and forced the evacuation of 107 local residents, the spokesman said. The disaster caused a direct economic loss of 18.14 million Yuan (2.6 million U.S. dollars), he added. Mountain torrents also flooded Sanhe village in Longfengba Town in the prefecture.
