Rainstorms that have lashed central China's Hubei Province since Friday have left three people dead, Xinhua quoted the provincial civil affairs authority as saying. Two people died in Dangyang City, one of the hardest hit in the province. The civil affairs authority in Shayang City also reported one death. A man was killed by lightning. The rainstorm came to an end on Sunday morning. The provincial bureau estimated that 780,000 people in 11 county-level cities were affected and 31 people were injured in accidents that occurred in the torrential rain. The bureau's figures showed that 380 homes collapsed and another 1,706 homes were damaged in the rainstorm. A total of 351 people have been evacuated from their homes. Local reports on agricultural losses showed that 37,254 hectares of farm fields were flooded, some 3,233 hectares of which will not yield this year, said the bureau, with losses estimated at 133.6 million Yuan (19 million U.S. dollars). The provincial observatory said storms lashed 19 cities, and the cities of Wuhan, Xiaogan and Yunmeng received rainfall of up to 150 millimeters. In the provincial capital, Wuhan, traffic on some streets was blocked by floodwater up to a meter deep. More than 1,000 people were mobilized to help clear the streets.
