Continuous heavy rain in eastern and southern China has left at least 93 people dead and 11 missing since late last month, according to official media. Xinhua said nearly 12 million people in nine provinces, regions and municipalities had been affected and at least 560,000 had been evacuated. Economic losses were estimated at 7.66 billion yuan. Heavy rain has been affecting provinces from Zhejiang to Guangxi. Thunderstorms battered Hangzhou in Zhejiang for hours on Saturday, with the city's renowned West Lake suffering serious damage. Seven people working on a sluice gate on the Caoe River, which leads to Hangzhou Bay, were reported missing after being swept away by waves during the thunderstorm. Strong winds uprooted more than 800 trees in Hangzhou, including more than 400 in the West Lake park. Eight tourists were trapped in one of the park's pavilions and later rescued by police. 'This is the most serious damage to the West Lake park since a typhoon in 1988,' Xinhua quoted an employee of the West Lake Management Committee as saying. In Fujian province, at least 45 people were killed by floods and landsides. In some parts of badly affected Nanping city, water levels reached up to 6 metres. China News Service reported that Zhao Biming, a vice-director of the city's anti-corruption office, was swept away by floodwaters last Thursday while on duty. Mudslides stopped train services between Fuzhou and Fuqing. Shanghai also halted four rail links but plane schedules and long-distance buses remained unaffected. Another hard-hit province was Guangxi. Official media said continuous downpours had killed at least 14 and left 24 injured. More than 112,000 people had been moved to higher ground. In Wuzhou city , 5,400 houses were damaged by massive landslides. Downpours also caused a dam in Guangdong's Conghua city to collapse. More than 2,000 police were deployed to help with rescue work, Xinhua said. China News Services quoted weather forecasters saying the level of four rivers in Guangdong - including the downstream section of the Pearl River - would this week reach their highest points of this year. 'Water levels will drop after Friday and conditions will ease,' the report said. According to Xinhua, the ministries of civil affairs and finance have allocated 40 million yuan in relief funds to flood victims. The central government has also urged local authorities to step up emergency preparations, as forecasts showed unstable weather would continue this week, mainly in Guangdong.
