HEAVY RAINS IN CHINA.

At least one person was killed and 15 others went missing in China's southwestern Sichuan province after severe rainstorms battered the region, including some quake-stricken areas leading to the collapse of a bridge, officials said. The province has been hit by rainstorms since Monday. Rain-triggered flooding has left four people from quake-hit counties of Beichuan, Anxian and Qingchuan, missing.
In Qingchuan county, rain-triggered landslides have caused one death and affected the lives of 7,051 people. The cumulative precipitation in Qingchuan since Monday has reached 1,000 mm, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The government of quake-hit Shifang City said floods and landslides caused by rainstorms have left five people missing and one person severely injured. Three bridges have collapsed since Monday evening due to rain-triggered floods in the
cities of Jiangyou and Deyang, the officials said.
So far five vehicles were confirmed to have fallen off the Panjiang Bridge into the river in Jiangyou City, according to officials. Three people were saved while six others remained missing. More than 2,000 people were dispatched to search for the missing downstream, they said.
Three major rivers in the province have been swollen, with water levels surpassing warning marks, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said.
Heavy rain started to batter the city of Ya'an, which was shaken by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in April, early on Monday morning, resulting in floods in three townships in the city's Yucheng District, according to the district government.
At least 16,900 people in 4,920 households in the district have been affected. Direct economic losses are estimated at 768 million yuan (USD 125.18 million). Local governments have relocated over 5,200 residents and tourists to get them out of the way of potential geological disasters.
Downpours also submerged quake-razed ruins in Beichuan Qiang Autonomous County, which has received 300 mm of precipitation. More than 42,000 people in Beichuan have been affected by the downpours.