Mass evacuations as record rain, floods strike southern China
- Nearly 150,000 residents flee homes after houses, fields and roads are inundated
- Beijing sends rescue task force to Guangxi and Guangzhou to oversee emergency operations
The China Meteorological Administration said the average rainfall for the May to June period in Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian province reached a 61-year high.
Cars were washed down major roads by fast-flowing muddy waters while sewage overflowed in Nandan county in Guangxi, according to newspaper Nanguo Today.
Authorities closed floodgates upstream on the Xi River to reduce the impact of the waters.
The Ministry of Water Resources said water levels in Wuzhou might reach 5.5 metres (18 feet) above warning levels on Thursday if reservoirs were not used to ease water flows.
Five people died in a Guangxi village on Saturday after floodwaters washed away their homes, CCTV reported.
Another seven people were killed earlier this month when other villages were flooded.
The ministry said on Monday that by noon 85 rivers across the country were flooding above warning levels.
June generally marks the start of the flood season in China, but the ministry said national rainfall this year had been about 30 per cent more than usual.