4 Jul 2009

Dozens die in southern China floods

9:57 pm on 4 July 2009

More than 50,000 people have been evacuated in south China after the heaviest rains in years led to flooding and swollen rivers in recent days, state media reported on Saturday.

Xinhua news agency says more than 47,000 people were evacuated in Rongshui county of Guangxi region after the Rong River flooded its banks, inundating farmlands and destroying homes.

Another 7,500 people were evacuated from below Guangxi's Kama reservoir, where workers were furiously trying to repair damaged dykes that were threatening to burst, it said.

Torrential rains have pummelled south central China over the last week leaving dozens dead or missing and leading to the evacuation of over 100,000 people, media reported on Friday.

Xinhua also reported on Friday that nine people were killed and eight were missing in flooding in the provinces and regions of Jiangxi, Guizhou and Guangxi, while 11 were pronounced dead there on Thursday.

According to a report issued on Wednesday by the state flood headquarters, 95 people have been killed and 21 people are missing in flooding throughout China in the first six months of the year.

South and central China are prone to major flooding during the annual summer rainy season that every year leaves a trail of death and destruction.