A dragon boat team works hard in an annual contest in
Shenzhen, Guangdong province. More than 10 teams from several cities in
Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao participated in the competition. (Photo:
Wu Jun / China Daily)
Intense rain and floods continued to soak central and southern China on
Monday, the traditional Dragon Boat Festival usually celebrated with boat races
on river.
Torrential downpours hit provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday, though rainstorms showed signs of subsiding
in other southern regions, according to the National Meteorological Center
(NMC).
Starting late May, heavy rain has unleashed floods and collapsed houses in
south China, leaving at least 43 people dead or missing.
In central China's Hunan province, rainstorms inundated streets and caused
traffic gridlock in several cities and towns, including the tourist town of
Fenghuang, while landslides were reported in rural areas, damaging river dikes
and roads.
The provincial flood control and drought relief headquarter of Hunan said the
rain-triggered floods had toppled 859 rooms and affected 585,000 local
residents, while forcing evacuation of 15,500 people.
A flash flood also submerged a bridge leading to a scenic mountain in
southwestern Sichuan province at midnight Monday, trapping 147 tourists until 5
p.m.. No casualty has been reported.
The NMC forecasts that strong rain will continue to batter many parts of
south China in the next three days and warned of rain-triggered disasters, such
as floods, landslides and mud flows in these regions.