Death toll rises to 58 in China's rain-ravaged Henan

The death toll in flood-hit Henan Province in central China has risen to 58 as record rainstorms wreaked havoc and five persons were reported missing as of 4 pm Saturday, according to a local government press briefing.

More than 9.3 million people across the province have been affected by the latest round of heavy downpours and floods. Over 1.1 million local residents have been relocated to safer places.

Li Changxun, deputy director of the provincial emergency management department, said between 7 am Friday and 7 am Saturday, torrential rains continued to lash areas in the cities of Luoyang, Pingdingshan, Shangqiu, Kaifeng and Hebi. Over the 24-hour period, six monitoring stations in Henan registered precipitation of over 50 mm.

Local rivers including Dasha and Anyang were swollen due to continual rainfall, and 13 large and 44 medium-sized reservoirs in the province saw water level exceed flood season marks.