Rainstorms have triggered floods across central and southern China, forcing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and leaving three dozen dead or missing, state media reported Monday. At least 16 people were killed and a further 10 were unaccounted for in the southern Guangxi region as of Sunday, Xinhua news agency said, citing local authorities.
Thousands of hectares of cropland were inundated while 600 homes collapsed and 6,500 were damaged in the region, causing around $428 million worth of economic losses. More than 90,000 people have been relocated. In neighbouring Hunan province, a mudslide killed five people and left another four missing on Saturday. Days of heavy rain have raised the water level of the central region's Xiangjiang river, Xinhua reported on Sunday.
More than 300,000 people have been evacuated across Hunan, which has lost 295,000 hectares of crops and seen more than 6,000 homes destroyed.