China Typhoon Alert: At Least 11 Dead, 4 Missing In Sichuan Province Due To Heavy Rains

At least 11 people have died and four are missing in heavy rains that have fallen in the southern Chinese province of Sichuan, China's official CCTV television network reported.
 The dead and missing have all been in Linshui County, which is part of the city of Guangyuan and was deluged from Saturday morning until nightfall.
 By Sunday, the Chinese government had evacuated 23,300 people to safer locations and had rescued 604 people, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
 According to initial figures, the rains have damaged about 2,700 hectares (6,750 acres) devoted to crops and livestock production.


Sichuan has been hit by ongoing rains since September 8 which have left 2.5 million people in nine cities throughout the province in a "state of disaster" and have forced 160,000 of them to relocate to safer sites, local authorities told Xinhua. 
In Sichuan, the storms have destroyed 8,200 homes and caused the main rivers in the region to overflow.
China's National Meteorological Center on Sunday forecast that heavy rain would continue to fall in the southwestern and southern parts of the country and thus the current alerts will remain in force.


In addition, the Chinese government declared a yellow alert in anticipation of the arrival Monday of Typhoon Kalmaegi, which is packing winds of up to 126 kilometers per hour (78 miles per hour) as it moves through the South China Sea.
 According to official figures, Kalmaegi is moving northwards from the Philippines and is expected to near China's southeastern coast on Monday morning.
The typhoon could stir up waves seven meters (23 feet) in height in the eastern part of the South China Sea, according to weather authorities.