Thousands of troops have been sent into affected areas of Jilin and neighbouring Heilongjiang to assist with the flood response, evacuations, distributing supplies and fixing damaged roads. State media outlet Xinhua said about 2,000 soldiers and 5,000 members of the People's Armed Police paramilitary force had been deployed.
China has been hit with record heavy rains in recent weeks, with Beijing saying on Friday that natural disasters had caused 147 deaths or disappearances last month.
A further 14 deaths and one missing person were reported on Sunday by state-run broadcaster CCTV, citing local authorities, after heavy rain in the north-eastern city of Shulan. Four local officials including a deputy mayor were reported killed, washed away by flood waters while travelling to inspect the area, state media said. Their bodies were recovered on Saturday.
Heavy rains in the area had now "basically ended", Xinhua said, with almost 19,000 evacuated and 21 "temporary relocation facilities" set up.
Torrential rain brought on in the aftermath of Typhoon Doksuri, which hit mainland China as a typhoon before veering northwards, is the most severe since records began 140 years ago.
Clean-up operations are ongoing after the overwhelming rainfall, which destroyed infrastructure and flooded entire districts.
Authorities have warned that in parts of two major rivers in Heilongjiang and Jilin, water levels "surpassed the alert line", Xinhua reported.
CCTV broadcast video of recovery efforts in the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang showing villagers using shovels to clear muddy water from buildings.
(More here)
With Agence France-Presse
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