Flash floods and hailstones have damaged nearly 12,000 mu (800
hectares) of cropland in parts of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, but no
casualties was reported, local authorities said on Saturday.
The disasters, triggered by torrential rains, hit Wensu County
and Wushi County in Aksu Prefecture in western Xinjiang Friday
night, damaging cropland and flattening houses, according to the
prefecture government.
In Wensu, flash floods lasted an hour, destroying hundreds of mu
of field of paddy, water melon and corn.
Local government has dispatched emergency teams to the areas to
direct relief work.
(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2007)