Downpours brought by tropical storm Pabuk in south China's Guangdong Province has caused flooding across the province, affecting about 1.2 million people and toppling down more than 3,000 houses.

A total of 1.165 million people in the cities of Zhanjiang, Maoming and Meizhou were affected, 3,665 houses destroyed, while economic losses were estimated to be 1.342 billion yuan, the Guangdong provincial flood control headquarters said on Sunday.

A total of 5,920 people who had been stranded by flood in Zhanjiang have been rescued by Sunday.

Water levels in five medium-sized reservoirs in Zhanjiang were above the warning lines, while another reservoir overflowed twice.

Twenty-seven hydrologic stations in Guangdong Province recorded a daily perception of more than 100 mm, and 104 stations with daily perception between 50-100 mm. A hydrologic station in Huizhou even recorded a daily perception of 247 mm, said an official with the Guangdong hydrologic bureau.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 workers are repairing the rails on a section of Yuehai Railway, China's first cross-strait railway linking Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, to Haikou on the island province of Hainan. The railway was destroyed by torrential currents which inundated the rail-bed and distorted rails.

Pabuk, which landed in Hong Kong Friday afternoon, has brought moderate precipitation to southeastern coastal provinces of China, offering temporary relief to the lingering drought there.

Downpours and rainstorms were recorded in Wenzhou and Taizhou of Zhejiang Province that have suffered more than 20 days of sweltering heat.

Heavy rains also brought relief to 65,500 thirty people and 30,300 hectares of scorched farmland in Fujian Province.

As Pabuk and the eighth tropical storm Wutip are fading away, three more tropical storms would form in a few days to come, and two of them might hit south and southeast coastal areas of China, said the National Meteorological Center of China.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2007)