Heavy downpour affects 42,000 in central China

At least 42,000 people have been affected and over 1,400 hectares of crops damaged in heavy rains in China's central Hubei province.
Some 66 houses collapsed and another 154 were damaged after the heavy rain hit the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. The heavy downpour started on Thursday and has been continuing since.
About 1,400 hectares of crops were affected, the prefecture government said.
The direct economic loss is projected to be 15.11 million yuan (USD 2.5 million) state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Xianfeng county is worst hit by the downpours where 15,000 people in 11 towns were affected.