At least 16 dead, 36 missing in northwestern China floods

Correction: Corrects number of casualties

Shanghai, China, Aug 18 (EFE).- At least 16 people have died while 36 remain missing after a flash flood in the northwestern Chinese province of Qinghai, authorities said Thursday.

In a brief statement, the provincial emergency management department said the flood occurred in a mountainous area of Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County, in the northern part of the province’s capital, Xining.

Shortly after 7 am, authorities declared a Level 2 emergency response for flood control, the second highest in the country’s four-tier system.

The affected area has been lashed by torrential rains since Wednesday, although no further information has been provided so far about the extent of the damage and other details.

Since the beginning of the summer, torrential floods have left dozens dead and more than 1 million homeless in provinces including Hunan, Sichuan and Gansu.

During summer last year, floods in the central province of Henan, caused by rainfall of an intensity not seen in decades, submerged entire neighborhoods and subway stations and caused more than 300 deaths. EFE

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