66 killed as floods sweep S. China

Flood waters flow from the dam of a reservoir in Zijin county of Guangdong Province over the weekend.Xinhua

Days of torrential rain in southern China have killed 66 people and left 12 missing by last night, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Nearly 9 million people have been affected.

Floods caused by heavy rains damaged 94,000 houses and destroyed 48,000 in the region; and forced the evacuation of about 591,000 people, a ministry spokesman said.

About 294,800 hectares of crops were affected, of which 53,000 hectares were completely destroyed, he said.