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Millions affected by floods along Yangtze River

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-09 20:12

BEIJING - Rain-triggered floods are affecting millions of people in regions along China's longest river, the Yangtze, China's flood control authority said Friday.

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Provinces including eastern Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui and Chongqing Municipality were all affected by swelling rivers after heavy rain in these regions, the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH) said Friday.

The SFDH said more than 2.48 million people were affected, with some areas in Hubei and Chongqing completely flooded.

Local authorities said Friday at least 15 people were dead from rain-triggered disasters, with 5 others still missing.

The SFDH said 176,000 people had so far been evacuated from flood-hit areas.

The SFDH had launched an emergency flood response and ordered local bureaus to closely monitor the weather and issue alerts promptly.