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Nineteen people have died in storms and lightning strikes in southern China, while rainfall is forecast for drought-ravaged northern provinces this week.

Heavy rain in Hubei province led to the deaths of 12 people between Wednesday and Saturday. One person is listed as missing.

The storms affected nearly 400,000 people and 25,000 hectares of crops in 28 counties and cities. Ten of the 12 deaths were caused by lightning strikes, Hubei provincial news portal cnhubei.com reported.

The storm damaged nearly 5,800 houses and more than 2,100 residents have been relocated, it said.

Storms also lashed Yibin, Sichuan province, on Saturday, leading to seven deaths, with two people missing. Nearly 330,000 people were affected and nearly 200 highways and roads were damaged, chinanews.com reported.

With the rainfall exceeding 20 cm, the torrential downfall led to about 420 million yuan ($61 million) in economic losses to the city, the report said.

In the south, heavy rainfall is expected to sweep the southern areas of Zhejiang and Yunnan provinces, northern areas of Fujian province, and southwestern part of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, alleviating the regions' continuous sweltering weather, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said yesterday.

Local governments in these areas were urged to prepare for emergencies and guard against landslides.

However, the sweltering weather is expected to return on Tuesday, as some areas along the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers will see a high of more than 35 C, NMC forecast.

Meanwhile, in Northern China, drought-afflicted provinces are expected to receive light rain or showers in the coming three days.

Questions:

1. What was the total death toll in southern China the last week as a result of storms and lightning strikes?

2. In Hubei how many people were killed by lightning?

Answers:

1. 19.

2. 12.

（英語點津 Helen 編輯）

Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op’Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily‘s Website opinion section.

He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.