|
Beijing and Yangon: Heavy rains in southern China triggered floods that killed six people and forced the evacuation of 150,000 residents, state media reported on Saturday.
About 100,000 people were evacuated from Lechang city in Guangdong province after heavy rains late Friday pushed up the water level of the Wujiang River, setting off a flood alert, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Four people were killed in the city of Shenzhen and two others in Shaoguan, it said. Four others were missing in Heyuan, Qingyuan and Shaoguan, Xinhua said.
Provincial disaster officials said up to 269 millimetres of rain fell over a 12-hour period, flooding cities throughout Guangdong.
Shenzhen officials reported that more than 300 locations in the city were submerged and reservoirs had to open sluices to lower their water levels, Xinhua said.
In nearby Guangxi province, more than 50,000 residents were displaced after rainstorms pummelled Liuzhou city starting Thursday. Nearly 800,000 people in the city were affected by floods and about 100 elementary and middle schools had to suspend classes, Xinhua said.
Meanwhile, at least 11 people were killed by rain-triggered landslides in central Myanmar when their homes collapsed, state media reported yesterday.
The deaths occurred Wednesday and Thursday in Mogok region, which has been battered by heavy monsoon rains, the newspaper reported.
Several homes collapsed along Mogok's Yeni creek, where water levels rose as much as one metre, the Myanma Ahlin newspaper reported.
Flooding is common during Myanmar's monsoon season, which typically starts in late May.
Heavy rains have battered other parts of the country, including southwestern Myanmar where Cyclone Nargis hit last month.
|
