| July 5, 2009 Floods kill 16 in China, tens of thousands forced to flee
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(NECN/CCTV) - At least 16 people were reported dead and 320-thousand evacuated from their homes after torrential rains and flash floods hit southern and central China.
The heavy rains toppled houses, flooded roads and damaged dams in the last three days.
In China's Guangxi region 80-thousand people were forced from their homes.
Flood waters along major streets in Rongshui County were more than eight feet (2.5 meters) deep.
The level of the flood waters was the highest that the county has seen in 10 years.
The heavy downpour caused the electricity to short-circuit while residents waited on the second floor of their homes for the floodwaters to subside.
The storm also caused 287 houses in Rongshui County to collapse after the Rongjiang river overflowed.
More than 70-thousand people in the region were evacuated.
The county government said that estimated damage totaled approximately 210 (m) million yuan (31 (m) million US dollars).
The heavy rains also destroyed a 44-foot (13-meter) section of a dike near the base of the Kama Resevoir in Guangxi.
Attempts to repair the dam were abandoned, according to CCTV state-television.
Five people died and two people went missing after storms pounded southern Fujian Province, while 22-thousand people were evacuated from their homes.
In China's central province of Hunan, torrential storms caused eight deaths and 140-thousand people to be relocated on
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