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SHANGHAI, CHINA - FLOODING and mudslides caused by two days of torrential rain have left at least five dead in a mountainous region of south-west China's Sichuan province, state media reported on Saturday.
With the latest deaths, 14 people have died this month in landslides or floods triggered by continuous downpours in Sichuan, the Xinhua news agency cited local authorities as saying.
Officials said the death toll could rise as rescue efforts in landslide-hit areas continue.
A family of three were killed when a mudslide crushed their home on Friday outside the city of Yibing, in the province's south, Xinhua reported.
A team of about 100 rescue workers tried to dig them out but there were no survivors, the report said.
Two other people were swept away in Liangshan prefecture, in south-west Sichuan, by fast-moving mountain torrents created when water levels surged after the rain began on Thursday, the report said.
Heavy downpours since the start of the month triggered landslides in worst-hit Zhaojue County, which has received 8.8 inches of rain, toppling a farmer's house and killing six people, the report said.
Three other people were killed in similar incidents, it said.
Flooding across southern China last month forced the evacuation of more than 1.6 million people, submerged large tracts of farmland and caused economic losses exceeding two billion dollars, according to the government.
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