1st LD-Writethru: Heavy rain wreaks havoc in China

Torrential rain has battered several provinces in China, affecting hundreds of thousands of people and causing heavy economic losses.

In the central province of Hunan, days of heavy rain have affected about 500,000 residents in 25 counties, with about 18,000 evacuated and 4,000 in need of emergency supplies, according to the provincial flood and drought relief headquarters.

The rainstorms have also damaged 46,000 hectares of crops.

In south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, two people have died and 290,000 people in 16 counties have been affected by heavy rain.

Rainstorms battered Guangxi's north and east, forcing more than 12,000 people to evacuate, according to the regional department of civil affairs. The disaster has affected some 17,460 hectares of crops and toppled 610 houses, causing a direct economic loss of 470 million yuan (72 million U.S. dollars).

The heavy rain also disrupted traffic on 41 highways and damaged irrigation projects worth more than 100 million yuan.

Meanwhile, a city in south China's Guangdong Province was hit by its heaviest round of rain in more than 200 years.

Xinyi, in Maoming, saw 429.5 mm of rain in just six hours, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

Eight people died and four others were reported missing in the city. Endi