China flood death toll nears 400

Torrential summer rain has killed 381 people in central China and the nation’s south, while more than 100,000 have fled their homes to avoid rising rivers.

State media said flooding and landslides killed eight people this week in the mountainous region of Guangxi and two more in Yunnan province in the southwest.

A total of 381 people have been killed by recent storms – 75% of them in mudslides.

Major rivers in central China and the south are surging toward dangerous levels, with more rain forecast in coming days.

Nearly 110,000 people were forced to move to higher ground in the central province of Hunan as the Zishui and Yanshui rivers and Dongting Lake rose above danger levels.

Some areas of Hunan received more than eight inches of rain in a 24-hour period ending last night.