August 13, 2007	Monday	Rajab 28, 1428

BEIJING, Aug 12: Continued heavy downpours have been forecast for several regions across flood-ravaged China, state media said on Sunday, with some areas already reeling from record levels of rain.

Torrential rains are expected to continue in Fujian province in the southeast and have been forecast to hit the northeastern province of Liaoning, Xinhua news agency reported.

Parts of southern and southeastern China are already inundated from a pair of typhoons which struck the coast one after another over the past few days.

More than 23,000 people have been evacuated from their homes on the Leizhou peninsula following heavy rains since Thursday that also severed a major rail line, it said.

Workers were still trying to repair the line on Sunday, according to state television.

Some areas of Leizhou recorded their highest rainfall in nearly 200 years, Xinhua said.

At least another 2,000 people were evacuated in the Hainan capital of Haikou on Saturday, it said.

The downpours continue a devastating run of weather for China, which has seen vast areas flooded due to a series of storm systems to hit during the current summer rainy season.

According to government figures, 712 people were killed and 163 left missing in July alone.

Few areas of the country have been spared. Besides the flooding in the south, streets in the eastern province of Shandong looked like rivers on Sunday due to the rains.

Last week, at least 35 people were killed due to flooding and landslides in northwestern and southwestern China.—AFP