Severe floods in China's northern province killed 29 and caused tens of billions of economic losses

BEIJING (AP) — Severe floods in China's northern province of Hebei brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri this month killed at least 29 people and caused billions of dollars in economic losses, its provincial government said Friday.  

Official news agency Xinhua reported that rescue crews were still searching for 16 missing people as of Thursday and the province's reconstruction is expected to take two years to complete. Initial estimates showed the province's direct economic losses amounted to 95.8 billion yuan ($13.2 billion), state media China News Service said.  

Last week, Hebei was hit by serious flooding as the remnants of the typhoon battered the region and brought the heaviest rainfall in neighboring Beijing in at least 140 years.  

Official preliminary estimates announced Friday showed 3.9 million residents, or about 5% of the province's population, were being affected by the floods and more than 40,000 houses were collapsed, China News Service said. A further 155,500 houses and other facilities that provided electricity and communications were seriously damaged, it added.