China says floods kill 112 as more rain is forecast

Weeks of rain pushed rivers over their banks in southern China, killing at least 112 people, displacing more than 1.27 million and forcing some to huddle on rooftops as the region braced for more downpours. The deaths have been reported in 12 provinces, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on its Web site on Tuesday. Raging rivers have collapsed tens of thousands of homes, damaged crops across more than 2.12 million acres (860,000 hectares) and causing more than an estimated US$1.5 billion in economic losses. Banana trees were almost swallowed up Monday by the muddy chocolate brown waters of the Xijiang River that overflowed its banks in Foshan, a city in prosperous Guangdong province. Farmers ditched their plows and waded into the neck-high waters with nets to catch fish. The Beijiang River, which converges with the Xijiang in... [read full story]