Rescuers search for missing in China storms after 100,000 evacuated

BEIJING, July 8: Rescuers scoured flooded parts of China for survivors after devastating storms killed 17 people, caused dozens of rivers to overflow and a reservoir dam to burst, with officials warning rain will persist on Wednesday.

Six people died and at least 130,000 people were evacuated in the southern region of Guangxi after torrential rain and severe flooding from Typhoon Maysak, regional officials said, warning rain would persist there and in neighbouring Guangdong province on Wednesday.

Fast-flowing muddy water burst the banks of 40 rivers and waterways in Guangxi, damaging nearly 13,000 acres of agricultural land, state media reported.

Videos published by state broadcaster CCTV showed torrents of water rushing past the crumbled concrete walls of a reservoir dam that had burst in Guangxi, while rescue workers wearing life vests were deployed on inflatable boats.

Chinese authorities were sending additional disaster relief like food, raincoats, and rubber boats to the region, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

The death toll from a landslide in China's northwestern Gansu province rose to 21 a day after it buried 33 people, state media reported Wednesday.�"AFP