Torrential rains kill 16 in China

Torrential rains have killed at least 16 people and affected 1.5 million people in southern and northern parts of China, state media said.The official Xinhua News Agency said that the heavy rains over the past three days had wiped out crops in the southern Guangxi region. More than 730,000 people were affected in the southern province of Jiangxi, where there were landslides. The rains also affected the adjacent manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong. One resident of Hezhou died in hospital after suffering serious injuries during a landslide, while another was crushed to death during a house collapse, local officials said. Xinhua quoted a local government official as saying that economic losses so far were £13m, and that water levels in 10 reservoirs and several major rivers had risen above warning levels. Precipitation in some areas could total as much as 160mm, according to the National Meteorological Centre. Floods caused by the rainstorms have hit areas of Inner Mongolia in the north of China, Xinhua said. Culled from SKYNEWS