Devastating rain, flood sweep China

BEIJING: Heavy rainfall pounding parts of northern and southwestern China, triggered floods destroying crops and infrastructure.

Thousands of houses in the area have collapsed and vast swathes of farmland have been inundated, according to state broadcaster CCTV. In nearby areas, torrential rains caused many major roads to collapse and sent rivers gushing over the banks.

Meanwhile, in southwestern Sichuan Province, the storm had affected over 2 million people, and 30,000 had been relocated as of Thursday. China's meteorological authorities on Sunday forecast more heavy rain northern, southwestern and eastern parts of the country in the coming three days, according the officials Xinhua news agency.