At least 14 people have died in the last four days and eight are missing as heavy rains hit southern China, state-run Xinhua news agency reported Sunday, citing the flood agency. Some 9,000 houses have collapsed and crops have been damaged on 710,000 hectares of farmland, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters. Losses from the flooding so far are an estimated 9.1 billion yuan (1.37 billion dollars), according to dpa. Rainfall has been 20 per cent higher than in previous years along the Yangtze, with people living by the river facing the prospect of floods, and barriers and control efforts under threat, said Chen Guiya, Yangtze River Water Resources Committee deputy director. Some 120,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes in the provinces of Hubei, Jaingsu and Zhejiang.
