8 children killed as floods worsen

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-6-19  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

EIGHT schoolchildren were confirmed killed on Monday in floods caused by torrential rains in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Four students at the junior middle school of Liupu Town of Cangwu County, Wuzhou City, were killed and eight injured when a 3-meter wall near the school canteen collapsed around 6pm following days of rain. The injured are being treated in hospital.

Five pupils from Daguan Primary School in Shahe Township, Yulin City, were swept away while trying to cross a swollen river on their way home late on Monday.

Villagers had found bodies of four of the schoolchildren by yesterday afternoon.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said rainstorms and floods had killed 63 people, with 13 others missing in nine provinces and regions as of Monday. A total of 1.66 million people had been relocated.

The rain destroyed 67,000 houses, ruined 1.02 million hectares of crops and caused 14.45 billion yuan worth of damage.

Rainstorms and floods have hit the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Yunnan and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region since June 6. Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan and Jiangxi were the worst hit, the ministry said.

In Guangxi, floods have damaged 505 highways, destroyed 418 school buildings, and forced the closures of 1,134 of the 3,000 schools affected by the weather.

Rain-triggered geological disasters have left 45 dead, one missing and 26 injured in Guangxi since May 27, the local land resources department announced yesterday.

The Central Meteorological Observatory yesterday forecast continued heavy rain in nine regions, with torrential rains, thunderstorms, strong winds, or hail in parts of Guangxi, Zhejiang and Guangdong. Guangxi's meteorological department said the region is expected to see a new round of downpours in late June and July.