Toll rises to 72 in China rains

Beijing, July 23 (IANS) At least 72 persons were killed and 78 others are reported missing due to heavy torrential rains in north China's Hebei Province, the authorities said on Saturday.

Jingxing county saw an average precipitation of 545.4 mm in the 19 hours between 1 p.m. on Tuesday till 8 a.m. on Wednesday, surpassing the maximum amount received by the county in 2015, Xinhua news agency reported.

The local government has evacuated nearly 300,000 people and allocated 105 million yuan (about $15 million) for the worst hit places to help with the relief work.

There have been power outages, disruptions to communication and other infrastructure, and road closures across Jingxing.

North and northeast China were also hit by heavy rain this week, causing many casualties and a lot of property damage.