At least eight people have died and 30 others are missing after heavy rainfall caused flooding in south-western China.
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Rescue work was continuing with more than 400 emergency personnel at the scene. In Sichuan province. Rescuers had retrieved eight bodies and pulled four people to safety, the Xinhua news agency reported.
At least 12 people died after a motorway bridge collapsed in Shaanxi Province on Friday with 31 people and 18 vehicles still missing.
China regularly experiences torrential rainfall, especially during the summer months.
Extreme rainfall has hit China's southern, central and eastern parts in a flood season that started earlier than usual this year. Record rainfall pounded southern China in April to June, while in the north, dry weather parched fields and threatened crops.
Meanwhile two tropical cyclones are expected to bring gales and heavy rain to the country's eastern seaboard this week, with the first expected to make landfall on Sunday.
Prapiroon, named after a Thai rain god, is expected to make landfall in China's southernmost island province of Hainan on Sunday night as a strong tropical storm, the first tropical cyclone to hit China this year, national forecasters said.
Formed in the South China Sea, Prapiroon's centre was about 275km southeast of the Hainan city of Wanning.
The maximum wind speed near its centre will be up to 110km/h when Prapiroon lands, the National Meteorological Centre said, predicting torrential rains in Hainan and along the coast of Guangdong, China's most populous province.
with DPA
Australian Associated Press
