Death toll in China’s Hebei rains climbs to 29, 16 others missing

By Necva Tastan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Heavy rains in China's northern Hebei province have left 29 people dead and 16 others missing, local authorities said on Friday.

The rains have caused heavy damage to life and property in northern China since Typhoon Doksuri hit the country late last month. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region was the worst hit.

Authorities in Hebei said the disaster has caused a direct economic loss of around 95.811 billion yuan ($13.25 billion), the Beijing-based Global Times reported.

On Wednesday, officials said that in recent rain-related incidents in the capital Beijing, at least 33 people were dead while 18 others remained missing.

Last week, China's Ministry of Emergency Management said natural disasters had impacted nearly 16 million people and resulted in 147 fatalities in July alone.

China's financial authorities on Friday released $201 million more in response to damages caused by the floods in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Earlier this week, the Finance Ministry and the Water Resources Ministry had allocated $139.69 million for disaster-hit Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, and Heilongjiang in northern China, as well as coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, Typhoon Khanun caused flooding, facility destruction, landslides, transportation disruptions, and school closures, Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported.

Khanun lashed South Korea from south to north since Thursday and dissipated near North Korea's capital Pyongyang, said Seoul’s Met Office.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has instructed the government “to swiftly provide ample aid” to the victims of the typhoon.

One person was killed while another is missing since Thursday due to the typhoon in South Korea’s southeastern city of Daegu.

Some 15,862 people were evacuated due to the typhoon, and 9,741 have returned home.