URL http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9907EEDF173FF932A25755C0A9619C8B63

DATE/ AUTHOR None	AUTHORS: Jim Yardley

H Heavy Rains Set Off Flooding in Southern China

S1 Torrential rains in southern China have unleashed surging floodwaters that have swept through small cities and farming villages, claiming at least 66 lives, forcing nearly 600,000 people to be relocated and destroying millions of dollars in property, the state news media reported Sunday.

S2 Rescue efforts were under way in the southern provinces of Hunan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Guangxi, as the floodwaters swept through mountainous regions prone to landslides.
S3 Nearly nine million people were directly affected by the flooding, and factories and other enterprises have been closed in some areas, according to Xinhua, China's official news agency.

S4 Heavy rains began last Wednesday in southern China and deluged the region into the weekend.
S5 By Sunday, the rains had subsided in Guangxi Province, but more flooding was possible as water levels in local rivers were expected to keep rising for several days.
S6 Guangxi had reported eight deaths as well as extensive property damage, including the destruction of more than 3,700 homes and thousands of acres of cropland.

S7 Flooding is an annual early summer event in southern China and a reminder of the country's contradictory weather patterns.
S8 Even as the south is awash in floodwaters, other regions of China are gripped by record drought.
S9 In the southwestern corner of Sichuan Province, drought is so severe that trucks are delivering emergency water supplies.

S10 Major cities along the southern coast, including the manufacturing export centers in Guangdong Province, were not reporting any flooding problems.
S11 But water was chest high in other parts of the province, including Zi Jin County, where some towns were experiencing the worst flooding in 50 years.
S12 In one town, state news media showed a group of men carrying a pregnant woman atop a makeshift barge through waist-deep water.

S13 Earlier this year, Chinese experts warned that southern China could experience serious flooding this summer, particularly along the middle and lower sections of the Yangtze River.
S14 In spring, there was major drought on the upper reaches of the river, and the experts warned that flooding could follow.

S15 China Central Television estimated property damages at 1.5 billion yuan, or about $198 million, for the region.

