BEIJING, June 10 -- Torrential rains that plagued southern China for days
have killed 66 people and resulted in 12 missing by 6:00 p.m. (Beijing time) on
Sunday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
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Water level kept
rising in the Liujiang River after days of torential rain in south China,
Liuzhou, southwestern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on June 10, 2007.
[Xinhua]
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"Floods caused by heavy rains have
affected about 294,800 hectares of crops, completely destroying 53,000 hectares
of them," said an official with the ministry,
The floods have torn down 48,000 and damaged 94,000 houses in southern China,
and forced about 591,000 people to evacuate from their homes, the official said.
From Wednesday to Saturday, continuous torrential rains, mudslides and floods
hit Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Jiangxi and Fujian, affecting more than
8.97 million people.
The disasters have caused an overall economic loss of more than 2.9 billion
yuan (371 million U.S. dollars), according to the ministry.
The ministry has sent rescue teams to the disaster areas to assist relief
work.