Relentless rain and flooding in two south China provinces has killed at least 29 people and forced the evacuation of 100,000 residents, local government sources said yesterday.

People try to cross a flooded street on a tricycle in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. A rainstorm swept the city early Saturday, flooding many districts in the downtown. [China Daily]

In Fujian Province, continuous heavy rain since May 30 has left 22 dead, destroyed 19,000 homes and forced the evacuation of more than 50,000 people.

In neighboring Guangdong Province, seven residents of Meizhou City were killed in landslides over the past three days, and 270,000 others had their lives disrupted by flooding, the worst in a decade, the provincial water conservancy bureau said.

More than 50,000 people were evacuated from water-ravaged areas.

At least 784 houses collapsed, nearly 15,000 hectares of cropland and infrastructure facilities, including dikes and roads, were damaged, resulting in 270 million yuan (US$33.75 million) in economic losses.

The provincial weather bureau issued a storm and flood alarm on Saturday and warned that the situation could worsen.

Five heavy storms were predicted for June, and forecasters said rainfall would be 20 percent higher than in the same period last year.

Floods are a seasonal hazard in south China at this time of the year and often cause heavy casualties and enormous damage.

Nationwide, 59 people were reported dead and 11 missing in floods through the end of May, according to state authorities.

More than 19 million people have been affected by the heavy weather, said E Jingping, secretary-general of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and vice-minister of water resources.

About 1 million hectares of farmland were flooded and 71,000 houses destroyed, resulting in more than 13 billion yuan in damages, the official said.

Heavy rains expected in the next 10 days in the Yangtze River area raise the flood threat there as well.

Up to 150 millimeters of rain could fall in some regions, according to the China Meteorological Bureau.

Meteorologists forecast that many areas of China will enter the flood season this month and have alerted local flood-control departments against possible hillside torrents, landslides and other weather-related dangers.

The recent floods follow Typhoon Chanchu, the strongest cyclone ever recorded in the region during May. Battering southern coastal areas, it left 11 dead and caused huge economic losses.

Meanwhile, northern China continues to suffer a long-term drought that has led to a shortage of drinking water for 9.49 million people and 8.7 million livestock and affected 12.1 million hectares of farmland.

The drought, accompanied by strong winds and high temperatures, has spread rapidly across most of the north and caused greater losses than usual, said E Jingping.