Toll in China Flooding Rises to 143

Floods and landslides triggered by torrential summer rains have killed at least 143 people and left dozens missing in China, officials and state television reported Tuesday.

Thousands of army and navy personnel and other rescue workers were in Sichuan province helping displaced residents, unloading emergency supplies and guiding those trapped in muddy, swirling waters, the official New China News Agency said.

Authorities put the enormous Three Gorges hydroelectric dam project on alert as flood crests swelled the Yangtze River and more rains were forecast, the news agency said.

Every summer, rains wreak havoc across much of China, especially along the flood-prone Yangtze and Huai rivers, where millions of people live.

The news agency said 89 were killed and 41 were missing in Sichuan, and 54 more fatalities were reported in the sprawling city of Chongqing, upstream from the Three Gorges Dam. About 16 people were missing in Chongqing, even as some residents in nearby Kaixian County were being allowed back to their homes, the news agency said.

More than 3,000 people left homeless by the flooding were sheltering in schools and government buildings, and rescuers were handing out quilts, medicine, bottled water and instant noodles, the news agency said.

Medical teams were sent to Kaixian County to help prevent disease outbreaks after 100,000 people there were left without safe drinking water, the news agency said. Flooding losses were initially estimated at $470 million.