Heavy rain continues to batter localities in China, bringing floods and forcing many to evacuate.
A week of storms in southwest China's Guizhou Province has affected more than 70,000 people, with more than 300 relocated and over 6,800 in need of supplies, according to the provincial department of civil affairs.
Rain has damaged more than 2,300 houses and 3,300 hectares of crops, leading to a direct economic loss of 50 million yuan (7.6 million U.S. dollars).
In central China's Hunan Province, more than 27,000 people have been displaced following heavy rain this past week.
Hunan flood control authority said that 1,826 houses were destroyed in storms in northwestern and southeastern parts of the province. At least four large reservoirs release water. Some schools were closed after campuses were inundated.
A section of highway near Guidong County was made impassable by a landslide which will take 20 days to clear.
The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters warned of major floods along the Yangtze, Songhuajiang, Huaihe and Pearl rivers.
Meteorologists say the floods are linked to the strong El Nino event, expected to come to an end in May. The current weather front is similar to one that brought heavy flooding in the Yangtze Valley in 1998, resulting in 1,320 fatalities.
