Severe flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall killed at least 25 people and left 30 missing in southwest China's Guizhou Province, sources with the provincial government said yesterday.

Downpours that lasted for three hours on Monday night caused flash floods in Wangmo County, toppling 400 homes, according to the province's information office.

Wangmo is a mountainous county, under the Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou.

An average of 190 millimetres of rainfall hit the county during the period, while in some parts it surpassed 200 millimetres, the office said.

The provincial government has dispatched officers from relevant departments to Wangmo for disaster relief efforts.

"The downpours cut off water and power supplies, communications and transport facilities in the county seat," said a provincial official surnamed Zhao, who is in charge of flood control and disaster relief.

Because the floods happened at about midnight on Monday, many people living in remote regions had little time to flee, Zhao said.

A panel headed by officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs have rushed to the county for flood relief support, said Wang Zhenyun, director of disaster relief at the ministry.

A total of 5,900 people were evacuated to safe places in Wangmo and neighbouring Luodian County ahead of the torrential rain.

According to Wang, the province's civil affairs department has allocated 1 million yuan (US$125,000) for flood-hit residents.

The provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Guizhou, Jiangxi and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have been hit by rainstorms since May, with floods, landslides and house collapses killing about 100 people and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.

The central government earmarked 116 million yuan (US$14.5 million) in emergency disaster relief for flood victims in south China yesterday.

(China Daily June 15, 2006)