BEIJING - Floods have killed at least 46 people in southern China in recent days and forced more than 120,000 people to flee their homes, with more rain expected to hit central, eastern and southern provinces.
While torrential rain battered the humid south, a hail storm hit arid northeastern Heilongjiang province, destroying farmland, state television said.
"Among flood-ravaged provinces, (southeastern) Fujian has been hardest hit with 26 people killed since May 29," the China Daily said. Some 60,000 to 70,000 people had been moved to higher ground.
Roads have been blocked by a series of landslides in the capital Fuzhou. School classrooms had also been flooded, meaning at least 4,000 students in the province were spared rigorous university entry exams which began nationwide on Wednesday.
Floods killed 11 people in neighbouring Guangdong province, forcing 60,000 to 70,000 to evacuate.
South China is plagued by typhoons, heavy rain and floods in the summer, causing widespread deaths and damage to crops and infrastructure.
Natural disasters killed 2,500 people in China last year.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
