BEIJING, July 21 (Reuters) - The death toll from storms in east China's coastal Shandong province has risen to 40, the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday, citing the provincial civil affairs bureau.

China's flood season, which usually lasts from May to September, has already killed hundreds of people this year and caused a 2-billion strong plague of rats fleeing rising waters in the southeastern province of Hunan.

Heavy rain is forecast to continue to hit large swathes of China over the weekend.

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