Heavy rain leaves 2 dead, 1 missing in China's Chongqing

Torrential rain from Thursday to Friday has left two people dead and another missing in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, authorities said Saturday.

More than 108,000 residents of the districts of Hechuan, Beibei, Yubei and Tongliang were affected, with over 1,300 of them evacuated, the municipal flood control and disaster relief headquarters said in a statement.

More than 100 houses were destroyed and 5,200 hectares of crops were damaged, said the statement.

The municipal weather center issued a yellow alert for heavy rain 11 p.m. Friday, forecasting over 50 mm of rainfall on average in many parts of the municipality on Saturday.

China has a four-tier color-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)