Poultry settle on a house submerged by floodwater Thursday in Wanning City in Hainan Province. At least one fisherman was dead and three others missing in severe flooding that forced over 213,000 people to flee their homes and submerged than 1,160 villages -- all from the heaviest rains in the south China province since 1961.

At least one fisherman was dead and three others missing as the worst flooding in decades forced the evacuation of more than 213,000 people in southern China's island province of Hainan, local authorities said Thursday.

In addition, 111 fishing boats were damaged, and 28 others sank, said Yang Yunxian, a provincial disaster control official.

Helicopters and rescue boats have been dispatched to search for the missing fishermen, he added.

More than 213,000 people have been evacuated after more than 1,160 villages were submerged by floods in the province, triggered by the heaviest torrential rains in Hainan since 1961.

Torrential rains battered many areas of Hainan for six days.

Flooding is so severe that schools in Wanning and Qionghai cities are suspended today.

Schools in the provincial capital of Haikou, the beach resort of Sanya and Lingshui County will be closed today and tomorrow.

Parts of the island received an average 324.7 millimeters of rainfall.

Meanwhile, Asia's death toll from vicious rains spiked yesterday to 140 as disaster officials reached previously isolated areas in Vietnam.

Security forces tried to speed recovery efforts in Indonesia, home to most of the fatalities with 91 dead, by removing debris from blocked roads and fixing bridges.

In Vietnam, the death toll nearly doubled to 48 after disaster officials were finally able to access areas that had been cut off by high waters. Another 23 people remained missing as villagers started returning to areas where the water was receding.

(Xinhua News Agency / Shanghai Daily October 8, 2010)