Flooding triggered by torrential rains killed at least 24 people in a region of southern China and left 23 others missing, the government said Wednesday, as it ordered mass evacuations of towns in the danger zone. More than 20,000 houses were wrecked by the floodwaters in the Guangxi region, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing disaster officials. The area has been pounded by heavy rain since Saturday, causing swollen rivers to overflow their banks, Xinhua said. More than 300,000 people have been evacuated from flood-prone areas and taken to higher ground, the agency said. The Wuzhou River was 8.5 meters (28 feet) above its danger level at midday Wednesday, Xinhua said. It said the city of Wuzhou was preparing to evacuate residents in the event that its dikes fail. Flooding also was reported in the popular tourist town of Yangshuo, which attracts thousands of visitors a year to its finger-like limestone peaks, Xinhua said.
