8 dead, 1 missing in NE China downpours

CHANGCHUN -- Eight people died and another went missing due to rainstorms in Northeast China's Jilin province, local authorities said Saturday.

Torrential rain battered central and eastern Jilin on Thursday and Friday, forcing relocation of more than 120,000 people as of 8 am of Saturday, according to provincial flood control authorities.

In Yongji county, which saw record-breaking daily precipitation, five people died in the disaster.

The rainstorms have affected lives of nearly 320,000 people in 13 counties, damaging homes, roads, bridges and dikes.