536 dead, 137 missing in floods across China

Initial statistics show that till 16:00 on June 23, a total of 22 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China have suffered flood disasters of different degrees since last week, according to latest information from the Office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. 3,100,300 hectares of crops have been covered including 1,266,860 hectares affected.

The floods affected 44,376,100 people, including 536 dead and 137 missing. Direct economic loss has totaled 20.352 billion yuan.

The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangdong Province and Fujian Province suffered the severe losses in the floods, according to the office.

In Guangxi, floods damaged 91 reservoirs and 53.4 kilometers of dikes.

In Wuzhou, a city of Guangxi, the water level of the Xijiang River rose to 26.75 meters when flood crest came at 12:00 a.m. Thursday, 9.45 meters above the warning line.

Wuzhou and some other cities had decided to postpone the schedule of senior high school entrance examinations.

Rainstorms in Guangdong caused cave-in of the roadbed of the Longchuan-Huizhou section of the Beijing-Kowloon Railway on Tuesday. Transportation has not been resumed yet and repair work is still underway.

Continuous torrential rain and ensuing floods in the northern part of Fujian Province forced the Xiamen Railway Station to suspended all its trains after some railway lines via the city were disrupted.

A task force dispatched by the State Council went to floods-hit areas in Fujian, directing local rescue and relief work.

Jia Zhibang, head of the group and Vice-Minister of Civil Affairs, warned local officials to keep alert on possible occurrence of mud and rock flow and landslide.

People's Daily Online/Xinhua