Floods kill tens and displace many residents in China

Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated, and tens of people killed or missing in southern China due to floods and mudslides.

Chinese state media report that the bad weather has wreaked havoc on tourist areas previously plagued by months of travel restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Torrential rainstorms caused floods and mudslides, displacing 230,000 people and destroying more than 1,300 homes, according to state news agency Xinhua.

In the south of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, six deaths and one missing person were reported, Xinhua said. In the popular destination of Yangshuo, streets were flooded, forcing residents and visitors to evacuate on bamboo rafts.

The local government said more than a thousand hotels had been flooded, and at least 30 tourist sites have been damaged.

The Ministry of Emergency Management estimates that the economic damage now amounts to more than $500 million.

At least thirteen people have died in Hunan province, and a further eight people are missing or have been killed in the south-western province of Guizhou, according to the local emergency services.

The heavy downpours started in early June and have led to ‘dangerously high water levels’ in 110 rivers, Xinhua reported. More rain is expected in the south in the coming days.