Thousands stranded, five killed, as heavy rain lashes south China

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A lot of people have been stranded and a minimum of five killed amid torrential rain throughout central and southern China, with authorities bracing themselves of at least another four times of downpours, state media reported on Tuesday.

The official China Daily said floods had mortally wounded 10,800 hectares of crops and destroyed countless houses while in the Jiangxi province by Monday, by having a total a single.4 million people affected and direct economic losses amounting to 2.65 billion yuan ($382.41 million).

In areas of Guangxi within the southwest, 20,000 households had their power cut and roads, bridges along with other infrastructure were severely damaged, the China Daily said.

Rainfall in Jiangxi reached just as much as 688 millimeters (27 inches), in line with a notice by China’s meteorological administration. It said rain in elements of Jiangxi and Hunan had hit record highs for June.

The administration said rainstorms were most likely to spread to Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and Taiwan by Thursday. Additionally it warned authorities to be their guard against severe thunderstorms as well as possibility of small rivers bursting their banks in coming days.