Rains in China leave 70 dead or missing

State media say heavy rains across China have left at least 70 people dead or missing over the past week. Xinhua News Agency reported Friday that 49 people died from July 1 through Friday in rain-triggered disasters. At least 21 people disappeared during the heavy rains in Shanxi, Sichuan, and Hebei provinces. Seasonal flooding last month left more than 260 people dead or missing in eastern and southern China. The flooding in those areas has triggered landslides, forced the evacuation thousands and caused nearly $1 billion in direct economic losses.