Mon, May 14, 2012
MINXIAN, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The death toll has climbed to 24 and 33 people remain missing after hail and torrential rains battered Minxian county in northwest China's Gansu Province Thursday, the local government said Friday.
At least 40 people were injured, according to latest reports released by the county's civil affairs bureau at 11 a.m.
The stormy weather lasted only an hour from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., but wreaked havoc in 17 of Minxian County's 18 townships and villages.
In the worst-hit areas, precipitation measured nearly 70 mm.
Hail and torrential rains cut power supplies in six townships, damaged several homes, hospitals, schools and 7,374 hectares of cropland and disrupted traffic on two interprovincial highways.
A total of 1,903 were evacuated following the storm for safety considerations.
Minxian is a mountainous county in Dingxi City, with a population of 450,000. It is 150 km from Zhouqu county, where a devastating train-triggered mudslide killed more than 1,500 people in August 2010.
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