China floods: Nearly 2 million displaced in Shanxi province

 

More than 1.76 million people have been affected by severe flooding in China's northern Shanxi province, according to local media.

Torrential rain last week lead to houses collapsing and triggered landslides across more than 70 districts and cities in the province.

Heavy rainfall is hampering rescue efforts, officials said.

The flooding comes less than three months after extreme rains in Henan province left more than 300 dead.

China's Meteorological Administration also told local media that heavy and prolonged rainfall and storms are hampering rescue efforts.

Authorities told the Xinhua news agency that more than 120,000 people have been urgently transferred and resettled, and that 17,000 homes have collapsed across Shanxi province.

Four police officers have died as a result of a landslide, according to the state-run Global Times, although information about other casualties has not been released.

It added that the Shanxi flooding may have been worse than the floods in Henan earlier this year.

Shanxi's provincial capital Taiyuan saw average rainfall of around 185.6mm last week, compared with 25mm it saw in October between 1981 and 2010.