Flooding in Guangdong kills 19 and destroys homes
About 21,000 people have been evacuated in the region
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 25 May, 2014, 7:19pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 25 May, 2014, 7:19pm
Associated Press in Beijing
Residents walk on a street after flooding in Shitan town of Qingyuan, south China's Guangdong province. Photo: AP
At least 19 people have died and seven were reporting missing on Sunday in widespread flooding that’s hit hundreds of thousands of people in a swath of southern China, the country’s state news agency reported.
Historic-level rains lashed the cities of Guangzhou, Zhaoqing and Qingyuan and triggered floods, mudslides and the collapse of 1,143 houses, according to the Xinhua News Agency. About 21,000 people have been evacuated in the region, while in the city of Pingxiang, 5,000 remained trapped by floodwaters at noon on Sunday.
Roads and buildings are flooded after a rainstorm in Qigong township in Yangshan County in Qingyuan city, south China's Guangdong province. Photo: AP
Heavy rains have battered the region since last week, with 628 millimetres accumulating in the city of Shanwei in Guangdong province since Wednesday. About 200 millimetres of rain were recorded over a 24-hour period this weekend in Liuyang city in Hunan province.
