China reports 7 more deaths from torrential rains brought by tropical storm, raising toll to 22

BEIJING (AP) — Torrential rains have left at least seven people dead and three others missing in southeastern China, state media said Tuesday, raising the death toll from a tropical storm to 22.

All the deaths have been in Hunan province. Heavy rains have been falling on eastern Hunan for days as Tropical Storm Gaemi moved inland after making landfall at typhoon strength in neighboring Fujian province on the Chinese coast.

Four deaths and three missing people were reported in four villages in Zixing city, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The rain has damaged hundreds of homes in the city and prompted the evacuation of more than 11,000 people, Xinhua said.

The bodies of three other missing people were found in a village in a nearby city, state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report. They were victims of a sudden mudslide caused by the rain, according to CCTV.

The seven deaths are in an area south of a summertime tourist region where a mudslide killed 15 people and injured six others after barreling into a homestay house Sunday morning.

Elsewhere in Hunan, the rains breached dikes on two sections of the Juanshui River on Sunday in Xiangtan county, and more than 3,000 people were evacuated, Xinhua said. One of the breaches had been resealed on Monday afternoon.

Tropical Storm Gaemi also brought heavy rain to northeastern China and North Korea, swelling the Yalu River, which divides the two countries. Serious flooding was reported in the Chinese border city of Dandong and on the North Korean side.