Heavy rains kill two, force evacuations in south China

Officials in Nanning, Guangxi's capital, raised the city's flood control emergency response to the highest level after torrential rain breached dams.

Two people have been confirmed dead and 48,000 had been evacuated so far, Nanning's deputy mayor told a press conference on Monday evening.

Videos shared by state broadcaster CCTV on Monday showed ferocious torrents of muddy water gushing through a breach in a dam on the Liulan reservoir -- described by state media as a "medium-sized" reservoir -- heading for buildings in the distance.

A dam on the Yunbiao reservoir also burst while the Liuwang reservoir overflowed, Nanning authorities said in a statement on their official WeChat account.

More than 800 residents were evacuated due to severe flooding in Fangchenggang, also in Guangxi, according to state media.

The heavy rainfall caused waters to rise above warning levels in 66 hydrological monitoring stations on 55 rivers in Guangxi on Monday, CCTV reported.

Luwei Town, also in Nanning, recorded 637 mm (25 inches) of rain in 24 hours between Sunday and Monday morning, according to CCTV.

Maysak weakened into a tropical storm after making landfall in mainland China, but authorities have warned it is still likely to bring more rain to Guangxi and much of southern China over the coming days.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management raised its flood response level for the whole region from III to II on Monday, as central authorities said they had dispatched 1,372 people and 140 boats to assist local rescuers and allocated 150,000 pieces of disaster relief supplies, including tents and camp beds, to Guangxi.

The ministry had also dispatched two Wing Loong drones to the disaster area to assist with emergency communications, CCTV reported.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management said they had allocated 160 million yuan ($23.5 million) for relief efforts in six disaster-affected regions and provinces, including Guangxi.

The National Development and Reform Commission allocated a further 100 million yuan from central budgets for post-disaster reconstruction.