July 4, 2009 Heavy rain causes floods in southern China Play video

(NECN/CCTV) - Rainstorms have continued to sweep across southern China, leaving dozens of people dead or missing in flooding.

According to local news agency, South China's Jiangxi Province has moved more than 100,000 people to safety following the heaviest rains this summer and, for the first time in its history, the local government there issued its highest level of rainstorm alert on Friday.

The rain reportedly caused 8,231 houses to collapse, causing a direct economic loss of 1.31 (b) billion yuan (191.7 (m) million U.S. dollars), said Xinhua News Service.

Meanwhile in Hunan Province, seven people were killed and one person was missing in another rainstorm, according to Xinhua report.

In some areas traffic has been clogged with many roads impassable.

Chinese states media said many reservoirs were swollen because of the rain.

Six were reported to be discharging water, in order to keep levels under the alarm line.

Xinhua also report that at least 50,000 people have been evacuated in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

In Luocheng county, the Kama Reservoir flooded, and water flow from the spillways destroyed a 13.5-meter (yards) section of a dyke near the base of the reservoir dam.

The local government on Friday organized the evacuation of 7,509 people living downstream from the reservoir for fear that the dam might collapse, said Xinhua.

Relief supplies were distributed to those evacuees,

In contrast to the heavy rain in South China, cities in Northern China, like the capital Beijing have been plagued with higher-than-normal temperatures and less-than-normal rainfall.

The Chinese capital on Friday issued an orange alert for hot weather for the third time this summer, said Xinhua.