16 die in floods

Published on Sunday 5 July 2009 12:55

At least 16 people died and more than 320,000 evacuated homes in southern and central China after heavy rains toppled houses, flooded roads and damaged a dam, news reports say.

In the central province of Hunan, floods have killed eight people and forced 140,000 to relocate since rain began pounding the region on Wednesday, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Five people have died in southeastern Fujian province, two others were missing, and 22,000 people have been evacuated, Xinhua said Saturday.

Another three people died and four were missing in Jiangxi province of the Guangxi region. Another 80,000 people were forced from their homes.

Rains caused 287 rural houses in Guangxi to topple and inundated Rongshui county causing the Rongjiang river to overflow its banks. More than 70,000 people in the region have been moved, the news agency said.

The county government estimated damage at 210 million yuan (31 million US dollars).