Hundreds of people are thought to have died in China, in flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rains earlier this week. State media said the worst hit areas were in the south-west of the country.
The provinces of Hunan, Yunnan and Guizhou have all been affected, as well as the Xinjiang Uighur and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regions.
Emergency authorities are reported to have dispatched a rescue team to Yunnan - the worst-hit province.
The China Daily newspaper quoted officials as saying that 288 throughout 22 provinces and autonomous regions had died from flooding, mud slides, and other water related accidents.
Some 33 million people across China have been directly affected by the floods, the newspaper said. About 130,000 houses have been destroyed.
Correspondents say China regularly suffers deadly summer floods along its major rivers and in mountainous areas.
According to the State Flood-Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, quoted in the China Daily, so far this summer overall damage has not yet reached the average levels for this time of year, indicating that the worst may be yet to come.
One-Minute World News 
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