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BEIJING: At least 20 people have died and more than 670,000 had to be evacuated in China after torrential rain and floods destroyed houses, damaged roads and caused rivers to overflow, state media said on Sunday.
The fatalities occurred over several days of relentless heavy rain in the centre and south of the country, also leaving another five people missing, according to Xinhua news agency.
In Hunan province, eight people died and 140,000 were forced out of their homes, Xinhua said, quoting the provincial flood control office.
Water levels of some rivers in the southern Guangxi region were the highest since 1998, when downpours led to the worst flooding in over 100 years and resulted in more than 3,600 deaths nationwide, China Central Television said Saturday.
More than 285,000 people had been relocated in Guangxi alone in the last week, with 300 pupils trapped in one boarding school, Xinhua reported.
The heavy downpours also inundated crops and cut power across several provinces.
South and central China are prone to major flooding during the annual summer rainy season.
According to a report issued on Wednesday by the state flood headquarters, 95 people have been killed and 21 people went missing in flooding throughout China in the first six months of the year. - AFP/de
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