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BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Eight people have died and seven remain missing after heavy rain hit parts of western and central China from last Sunday, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Friday.
As of 9 a.m. Friday heavy rain had forced the evacuation of 54,000 people in Chongqing Municipality and the provinces of Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi, the ministry said.
More than 2,200 houses had collapsed and 12,000 were damaged due to the heavy rain. Direct economic losses are estimated at 1.95 billion yuan (293.2 million U.S. dollars).
