A recent wave of rainstorms and floods hitting many parts of China have killed 10 people and affected more than 3.8 million, according to statistics released Wednesday. Since Saturday, rainstorms, floods and landslides have hit 138 counties of 61 cities in 16 provincial regions, including Beijing, northern Shanxi Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northeastern Jilin and Heilongjiang Provinces, eastern Jiangsu Province, central Henan Province, southwestern Yunnan Province and northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinhua quoted a statement from the National Commission for Disaster Reduction as saying. The disasters have caused direct economic losses of 2.07 billion yuan (323 million U.S. dollars), with northern Hebei Province and northwestern Gansu and Qinghai provinces most severely affected, according to the commission. Also on Wednesday, the ministries of finance and civil affairs decided to allocate 125 million yuan as life subsidies for people affected by disasters. The funds will be used to solve food and drinking water problems in areas frequently hit by droughts, and to help in emergency relocation and reconstruction of damaged houses, according to the ministries. The ministries have spent nearly 2.08 billion yuan since the beginning of this year to help people ride out disasters, statistics show.
