China ravaged by flooding

MORE than two million people have been displaced or otherwise affected by flooding in eastern China’s Zhejiang province that is also pushing up food prices, state media reported yesterday.

Torrential rains have left huge areas of the relatively wealthy province under water, with 422,500 acres (171,000 hectares) of farmland inundated, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Almost 1,000 businesses have been forced to suspend operations and 2.6 million people have had their lives disrupted.