Twenty-four people were confirmed dead and 23 others missing following continuous flood in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in recent days, according to the regional headquarters for disaster relief on Wednesday.

Continuous flooding affected 5.72 million people in the region and 333,000 people have been evacuated to safer places, the headquarters said.

Figures from the headquarters show that flooding caused an economic loss of 1.67 billion yuan (US$201 million) to Guangxi, damaged 328,000 hectares of crops and toppled more than 20,000 houses. Flooding also caused damages to another over 50,000 houses in the region.

Heavy rains hit central and northern parts of Guangxi since June 18, with the water level of many local rivers exceeding the warning line.

The water level in Wuzhou River reached 25.74 meters by 10:00 AM Wednesday, 8.44 meters higher than the warning line, and the water level is rising by 10 cm per hour.

The city government of Wuzhou has got ready to evacuate local residents once the flooding burst through the river dike.

The county towns of seven counties of Zhaoping, Yongfu, Yangshuo, Pingle, Changzhou, Wanxiu and Xincheng and Liuzhou city were also affected by floods.

Governments of various levels in Guangxi have sent officials to disaster-affected areas to direct rescue and disaster relief work. Local governments have urged efforts to be made to guarantee drinking water for flood-affected people and that flood-affected people are well-fed and sheltered.
 
(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2005)