25 June 2005 Floods in China worsen
The flooding situation in China is worsening, with the government reporting that 536 people have now been killed, and one million people forced to leave their homes.
Rivers have burst their banks, causing dangerous landslides, and the consensus that floods have still not peaked is causing the greatest concern.
The flooding is the worst seen in the region since 4,150 people lost their lives in 1988.
Liang Kongzheng, a government official in Wuzhou city, told the Associated Press: "The flood waters are enormous. They crashed down like a waterfall and submerged the whole city."
According to the Xinhua news agency, the government has sent 2,000 troops to help in Wuzhou and £1.4 million in emergency funds to Guangxi, one of China's poorest regions on the south coast near Hong Kong.
Some 22,000 houses have been damaged, on top of the destruction of farmland, roads and bridges.
The economic cost of damage is predicted to be in the region of £115 million.
Severe flooding was also reported in Yangshuo, a popular tourist town that welcomes thousands of visitors each year.
© DeHavilland Information Servic
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