Floods leave 12 dead, 3 missing in eastern China province

A total of 12 people were killed and three were still missing as of 7:00 p.m. Thursday as rain-triggered floods hit eastern China's Jiangxi Province, local authorities said Saturday.

Nearly 3 million residents have been affected, with 229,000 relocated and 120,000 in urgent need of aid, according to the Jiangxi provincial emergency management bureau.

Starting on June 6, heavy rain has left 80 counties and districts of the province inundated.

The floods also affected 208,700 hectares of crops and toppled 3,918 houses, according to the bureau.

Direct economic losses were estimated at 8.78 billion yuan.

The provincial authorities have sent relief materials to the disaster-hit areas to guarantee basic living needs of the people. The provincial government has also allocated 6 million yuan in disaster relief funds.

The weather service said the flood situation in the province remained grim and local governments should take precautionary measures while carrying out relief work.