The Chinese government has announced a national day of mourning as millions in the country's west struggle with more rain and the aftermath of mudslides that have killed more than 1,150 people. Flags were to fly at half-mast on Sunday and public entertainment was to be suspended for the day of mourning to express condolences for the mudslide victims, China's State Council said on Saturday. Meanwhile, the official Xinhua news agency quoted officials as saying that torrential rains would continue into Sunday with flash floods, landslides and floating debris posing dangers in Gansu and Sichuan provinces, he heavy rains have affected more than 305 million people and caused $1.7bn in economic losses, according to Xinhua, citing the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters agency. In mudslide-stricken Zhouqu, a remote mountain town in Gansu province in China's northwest, 588 people were still missing after last weekend's avalanche of mud and rocks, which levelled an area five kilometres long and 300m wide. The official death toll in Zhouqu stood at 1,156 on Friday. Health authorities said survivors of the deadly floods and landslides in Zhouqu faced a grim situation after clinics were damaged and vaccines ruined.
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