Rainstorms affect 222,000 people in China's Liaoning

SHENYANG, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Heavy rainstorms have affected more than 222,000 people in northeast China's Liaoning Province, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said Sunday.

From Thursday to Saturday, lingering heavy rains have battered 24 county-level regions across Liaoning, affecting nearly 44,000 hectares of crops as of Saturday. Direct economic losses from the floods reached over 417 million yuan (about 61.8 million U.S. dollars), according to the headquarters.

A total of 22 reservoirs in the province have so far exceeded the flood limit and were discharging water.