Villager Wei Yaping lost four relatives in the overnight flooding in Yongtai County in Southeast China's Fujian Province.

When Wei returned home to Weiyang Village in Changqing Town on Sunday morning, he faced only his collapsed residence. In the shambles, Wei and his brothers found out that his mother, wife, seven-year-old granddaughter and five-year-old grandson had perished.

The towns of Changqing and Songkou endured heavy rains on Saturday night, with rainfall reaching a record high of 104 millimetres in two hours, leading to floods in mountain passes.

Floods caused by heavy rains have claimed 10 lives so far in the county, authorities said yesterday.

"Another nine villagers remain missing," said the county government general office director surnamed Wang. "Rescuers are working at the site."

According to Li Yixing, Party Secretary of Yongtai County, the first batch of aid from the provincial government, including 100,000 yuan (US$12,000) worth of quilts, clothes, instant noodles and drinking water, has reached residents in the disaster areas.

The province has allocated another 400,000 yuan (US$48,300) to help combat the disaster.

The county government also appropriated 500,000 yuan (US$60,400) to help affected villagers rebuild their houses. Each family who has lost a loved one is also being given 4,000 yuan (US$483) to handle funeral affairs.

In the meanwhile, county health authorities have begun spraying disinfectants in the flood hit areas to prevent the possible spread of disease. County government offices have been assigned as accommodation for villagers whose houses were destroyed.

Initial statistics from the county government show that more than 80 houses have collapsed and an additional 100 residences were damaged in the disaster.

The floods caused damage worth of 80 million yuan (US$9.66 million), including 1,420 residents suffered, 12 eel-breeding and fruit-preserving plants destroyed, and 1,000 hectares of crops drowned in the disasters.

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