Death toll rises in China floods

BY A STAFF REPORTER



More than 50 people have died and a dozen remain missing in central China, following devastating floods that submerged entire neighborhoods, trapped passengers in subway cars, caused landslides and overwhelmed dams and rivers. Torrential rains have battered Henan province since last weekend, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and causing 1.22 billion yuan (about $190 million) of economic damage, Henan authorities said on Thursday.

Henan is one of China's most populous and poorest provinces, with large swathes of farmlands and factories.