South China floods may get worse

Officials in southern China’s Guangdong province warned of a "black June" as high tides, rain and two converging swollen rivers threatened to worsen floods that have already taken 169 lives this summer, Reuters reported. According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, 1.66 million people have been evacuated following heavy rainfall in south China over the past 10 days. Direct economic losses are estimated to be at least US$2.1 billion. A report by Guangdong’s water resources office claims that the Pearl River Delta has suffered its biggest-volume floods in over 50 years and its highest tides in over 10 years. It is thought likely that flooding in the delta – home to manufacturing hotspots such as Foshan and Zhongshan – will intensify. Areas affected by the Sichuan earthquake have also experienced heavy rainfall. In Wenchuan county, more than 52,000 people have been evacuated for fear of landslides and troops were struggling to reach another 20,000 local residents.