(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-02 15:03

ANKANG, Shaanxi -- Seven people have been killed and four are missing after a devastating rainstorm hit a city of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, local government said on Sunday.

Torrential downpours swept Ankang City in the south of the province from Thursday to Friday, with nine locations reporting precipitations of more than 100 millimeters, the local flood control authorities said.

Floods, landslides and mud-rock flows triggered by the rainstorm  brought down 3,500 houses and swamped hundreds of hectares of cropland.

Local government said it had arranged temporary accommodation for those homeless people.

Repairers are still trying to restore power and communications facilities in the city.

The rainstorm has caused a direct economic loss of 200 million yuan (US$26 million) for the city.

Floods and related disasters have left a total of 1,138 people dead and 210 missing in China by August 27 this year, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.