Torrential rains have killed at least 170 people across south China since the weekend, flooding cities, sweeping away houses and cutting off utilities as well as rail and road links, state media reported today.
The rains were triggered by Tropical Storm Bilis, which killed dozens in the Philippines and Taiwan before hitting China on Friday, where it was supposed to weaken but instead wrought havoc across six provinces.
At least 170 died and 138 were still missing as downpours continued on Monday in many of the worst-hit areas in Hunan, Guangdong and Fujian provinces, state-run Xinhua news agency and China Central Television (CCTV) said.
Xinhua cited the national disaster relief office as saying that a total of 20 million people had been affected by the rains, 2.2 million of whom had been evacuated.
Direct economic losses as a result of the storm totalled 12 billion yuan ($1.5 billion), Xinhua said, as 160,000 hectares of crops and 113,000 houses were destroyed.
Rains are forecast to continue over the next two days in Fujian, Hunan and Guangdong provinces.