7 killed as heavy rains cause flooding and landslides in China

At least seven people died after landslides partially buried several villages in the southern region of Guangxi on Thursday, state media reported.

Days of rain left hillsides waterlogged and prone to slippages, the Xinhua News Agency said.

Seven people were confirmed dead in the landslides, one was missing and at least one person was pulled out alive.

Rescue crews were still looking Thursday for survivors and those who are missing in the area of Xinfeng Town in Beiliu city, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Authorities have issued warnings of continued heavy downpours in Guangxi and the nearby provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Chongqing and Yunnan, Xinhua said.

In Guangdong a woman who was buried in mud after a landslide hit Xinyi City on Thursday morning was pulled out alive by rescuers, while workers trapped by floods in Zhuhai were successfully transferred to safe locations, CCTV reported.

In the south-eastern province of Fujian, some roads were cut off by days of heavy rain that caused landslides since last Sunday, CCTV said.

Another 10 people were killed and four are missing after flooding hit the central Chinese province of Hunan, where storms have pummelled since the beginning of the month, with some monitoring stations reporting historic levels of rainfall, Xinhua said late Wednesday.

China regularly experiences flooding during the summer months, most frequently in central and southern areas that tend to receive the most rainfall.

China's worst floods in recent years were in 1998, when more than 2,000 people died and almost 3 million homes were destroyed, mostly along the Yangtze, China's mightiest river.

IMAGE: AP