Heavy rain kills at least four in Guangxi

NANNING, May 16 -- Heavy rains in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have left at least four people dead and five missing, authorities said Saturday.

On Friday afternoon, two people died and nine others were injured after a thunderbolt struck a crowd of people who were taking shelter from the rain at a bus stop in Liuma village of Baise city, according to the civil affairs department of Guangxi.

In Guanyang county of Guilin city, one person was also struck by lightning and died on Friday, the department said.

Also on Friday morning, one person was killed and another five went missing after mudslides destroyed a lumberjack's shed in Rongshui Miao Autonomous County.

The department estimated that about 60,500 people in 11 counties and districts in cities of Guilin and Liuzhou were severely affected by the downpours and rain-triggered floods.

Local governments have evacuated more than 2,400 people. The rain also toppled 152 houses and damaged nearly 700, leading to surging waters in 12 main rivers of Guangxi and blocked traffic in remote regions.

The economic losses exceeded 41 million yuan (about 6.6 million U.S. dollars), the department said.

Rain is expected to continuously hit Guangxi in the following days.