South China floods kill several people, more than 70 crocodiles escape farm

Rainstorms battering southern China have killed at least seven people and allowed dozens of crocodiles to escape from a farm.

Nearby residents were advised to stay at home after more than 70 crocodiles escaped in Maoming, a city near the coast in western Guangdong province, according to Chinese media reports.

An emergency official was quoted as saying that 69 adult crocodiles and six juveniles had escaped. Some have been captured, but the operation was difficult because of the depth of a lake they are in, the media reports said.

Further west, seven people died and three are missing after multiple landslides in the city of Yulin in the Guangxi region, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Monday. Heavy rain on Sunday and Monday triggered the landslides.

Days of relentless rain from the remnants of former Typhoon Haikui have caused more than 100 landslides, trapped about 1,360 residents in floodwaters and killed at least seven people in China's south, state media said.

Typhoon Haikui hit southern China eight days ago and has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, but unrelenting rain continues to deluge southwestern Guangxi.

Incessant storms in the last three days in most areas of Yulin city caused 115 landslides that destroyed roads, uprooting trees, inducing floods and leading authorities to issue a warning of emergencies on national and provincial trunk highways, state media said.

Further south near the coast, Beihai city was inundated from widespread downpour. Rescuers were seen treading thigh-deep in waterlogged areas evacuating residents in boats. About 1,360 people were trapped on Tuesday, state media said.

The city's observatory raised its storm warning to the highest in a four-tier alert system after more than 101mm (4 inches) of rain poured in a three-hour period on Tuesday morning, and flagged risks of flash floods, geological disasters and waterlogging in urban and rural areas.

Scientists warn that typhoons hitting China are becoming more intense and their paths growing more complex, escalating risk of disaster, even in coastal cities such as Shenzhen that already have strong flood defence capabilities.

China Meteorological Administration forecast heavy rains in the south and southeast parts of Guangxi on Tuesday and Wednesday, with storms in the southwest. Localised hourly precipitation could hit 70mm (2.76 inches) in some areas, it said.

The national forecaster also warned relevant departments and people in Guangdong and Guangxi to be alert to any delayed effects of disasters from frequent rainfall in recent days.