CHINA:RESCUERS ARE scrambling to shore up dams in southern China after heavy rain flooded 23,000sq kilometres (8,880sq miles) of land, causing billions of euros in damage and threatening the manufacturing base of Guangdong.
Floodwaters have receded slightly, but forecasters have warned of more heavy downpours in coming days and authorities are particularly worried about the Yellow river, China's second-longest. Floods have killed at least 171 people and left 52 missing since the start of the flood season.
The ministry of civil affairs said 1.66 million people were evacuated from their homes across nine provinces and regions in southern China since major flooding started a week and a half ago.
More than 750 government officials and police had been sent to conduct rescue work for six reservoirs in "danger of bursting" in southern Guangxi region.
State television showed landslides in Jiangxi province covering houses and roads, as well as footage of submerged farms in the south. China's meteorological administration warned that flood prevention efforts were entering a "crucial phase" because heavy rain in the next few days would raise the threat of flooding and said provinces on the lower and middle parts of the Yellow river, including Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and Shandong were most at danger.
So far, the production centres of the Pearl river delta in Guangdong, where by some estimates nearly half of all finished goods in the world are produced, have been spared major damage, but authorities are watching nervously to see if the heavy rain causes severe flooding in the cities of Dongguan and Shenzhen.
The economic impact is expected to be severe. Snowstorms earlier in the year contributed to higher fruit and vegetable prices across China because roads were blocked and the flooding is expected to drive prices higher again. Inflation is politically destabilising and the government has ordered inspectors to investigate any exaggerated price hikes at markets and shops.
So far the flooding has not been as bad as in 2005 when at least 536 people died nationwide.In 1998, summer floods killed 4,150 people. The latest disaster also has a deep psychological impact as China struggles to recover from last month's earthquake in Sichuan province that killed nearly 70,000.