Floods devastate hundreds of thousands of Chinese

BEIJING, June 13 (Reuters) Hundreds of thousands of people were homeless across southern China yesterday after flooding that has so far killed at least 76, destroyed homes and ruined crops, and more heavy rains were forecast for the days ahead.

Torrential downpours, mudslides and floods hit the provinces of Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Jiangxi and Fujian since the weekend, prompting the evacuation of 788,000 people, the Civil Affairs Ministry said.

Livestock were left to drown as people fled their homes, power lines were toppled and roads made unpassable. About 12,000 soldiers from the People's Liberation Army were dispatched to help the rescue efforts, Xinhua news agency said.

Flooding and mudslides had caused direct economic damage of about 4.7 billion yuan (5 million), by yesterday, with 69,000 homes and 1,360 square km (525 square miles) of crops destroyed, the ministry said.

Heavy rain would continue to batter at least seven provinces across the south today, the National Meteorological Centre said on its Web site (www.nmc.gov.cn), compounding floods which have ''affected'' 13.6 million people.

For the first time this year, the Three Gorges Dam on the mighty Yangtze River, the world's biggest hydropower project, discharged water yesterday to lower the level in the reservoir after excessive rainfall upstream, Xinhua said.

In the worst-hit area of northeastern Guangdong, paramilitary troops and other rescuers used speedboats to get supplies to 24 villages in Huangjin township which were submerged by mountain torrents and the overflowing Hanjiang River, a local official said.

''We are distributing instant noodles, rice and medicine,'' the official, surnamed Liu, told Reuters by telephone.

It was only drizzling on Wednesday but a dozen villages were still under water and roads were cut, he said. Rescuers were disinfecting areas where water had retreated to avert epidemics.

Authorities in Meizhou municipality, which includes Huangjin, were rushing to repair dykes along the Hanjiang ahead of heavy rains forecast for the rest of the week, Xinhua news agency said.

FORCED TO FLEE Floodwaters had reached the second floors of homes in Huangjin last Friday, forcing many to flee, leaving valuables, poultry and livestock to be destroyed, Liu said.

An 8-year-old boy died and a man in his 50s went missing in the floods in Huangjin, he said.

More than 3,000 people were living in tents in the township of 37,000 and many others were sheltering with relatives whose houses on higher ground had survived the flood, he said.

''We will not be able to think about restarting life until people get stabilised in their minds,'' said Liu. ''The losses were too huge.'' Rice crops, only about a month from harvest, were destroyed across Meizhou, an underdeveloped hilly area known for its unique Hakka culture.

A railway line in Meizhou was restored today after being cut off for 92 hours, but some trains were still diverted to other lines, Xinhua said.

Some 10 inches of rain in seven hours yesterday night flooded streets in Liuzhou city in the southwestern region of Guangxi, submerging more than 20 big basement garages, Xinhua said.

The government has evacuated 134,000 people in the region and has warned of more ''geological disasters'' such as landslides and mudslides.

REUTERS SM BD1745