Rare winter floods hit central, south China

Rare winter floods have ravaged central China's Hunan Province since Nov.11, affecting a total of 253,000 people, local authorities said Monday.

Continuous rainstorms beginning on Wednesday have formed flood crests in the upper and middle reaches of the Xiangjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, China's longest river, leading to the most severe winter flooding in the region since 1961, according to Hunan Provincial Commission for Disaster Reduction.

As of Sunday, 173 houses had collapsed, 262 houses were seriously damaged and about 10,900 residents had been relocated in 15 counties and districts in Hunan. The floods also damaged 19,200 hectares of farmland in the province, resulting in direct economic losses of 401 million yuan (about 63 million U.S. dollars).

The government of worst-hit Yongzhou City has allocated relief funds of 660,000 yuan and sent relief supplies to affected people.

Torrential rain has also battered parts of neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region over the past several days. The city of Hezhou, located in the east of the region, has seen the worst winter rainstorms in decades.

The water levels of six rivers in Hezhou City have surpassed warning levels, the city's flood control and drought relief headquarters said.

Rare winter storms have caused economic losses of 71.6 million yuan in the southern city. As of Monday morning, a total of 83,450 people from 33 townships in the city had been affected.

The city's largest reservoir has seen its highest water level since it was built in 1958. The local meteorological department forecast heavy rain to continue on Tuesday.

In east China's Jiangxi Province, winter storms have caused the water level of Poyang Lake, the country's largest freshwater lake, to rise 1.6 meters over the past two weeks, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said Monday. Poyang Lake typically enters its winter dry season this time of year. Endi