Storms cause chaos in China

FLOODS and lightning killed at least eight people yesterday as heavy rain pounded southern China, destroying homes and blocking roads.

Flooding from this month's seasonal rain has already forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and left more than 170 dead or missing.

One flooded river in eastern China is now at its highest level in more than 50 years, and thousands of train passengers were stranded after landslides buried parts of a railway line in the south-west.

Two people died in the southern province of Guizhou after being struck by lightning, and two others died after being washed away by floods on Friday evening.

The country's official news agency Xinhua said four other people died but did not provide details.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said that flooding and rain have killed 25 people, left 150 missing and forced about 671,200 from their homes, many of them along the Yangtze River, since Monday.

The landslides and mudslides have toppled homes and blocked roads, and the torrential rain that caused them is forecast to last through the weekend.

Landslides crushed parts of a railway line in south-western China, stranding 5,000 passengers on four trains overnight and affecting train services.

More than 2,000 rescuers with ten excavators rushed to clear the Chengdu-Kunming railway, which links the capitals of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. The bureau has sent food and water to the trapped passengers, and buses to evacuate them.

In eastern Zhejiang, the province's main river is at its highest level since 1955. The Qiantang River was 7.9ft above safety levels.

Elsewhere in the coastal province, a dike breached and flooded 18 villages, while landslides toppled 2,500 houses and flooded 350 roads.