China evacuates 440,000 as floods hit Hainan province

China evacuates 440,000 as floods hit Hainan province

2010-10-12 00:13:59 GMT+7 (ICT)

BEIJING (BNO NEWS) – More than 440,000 people had been evacuated as floods affected China's southernmost island province of Hainan, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

The floods have destroyed more than 3,000 homes and damaged over 1,400 roads and 43 reservoirs in the province. Authorities also said that over 166,700 hectares of crops were damaged and from that amount approximately 74,000 hectares were destroyed.

Schools have closed for the next two to three days due to the heavy floods. It is expected that another round of rains will hit the island next Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in the Qiantang River near Haining city in Zhejiang Province, two bodies were recovered after a tidal wave washed out the region. Zhong Zuming, 37, and Zhao Sunting, 5, drowned while Zhong's daughter, 10-year-old Zhong Xinyi, and Sun Lei, 35, are still missing.

The incident took place at approximately 2:00 p.m. local time on Sunday when eight people were walking along a levee on the river and six of them were swept away by a tidal wave. Rescuers and boats went searching for them and two were rescued soon afterwards.

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