Deadly Storm Leaves Thousands Homeless

A torrential rainstorm in southeast China has killed more than 100 people and left tens of thousands homeless or stranded by flash floods, the New China News Agency said. The 24-hour deluge that began in Chenzhou in Hunan province destroyed more than 30,000 homes and did about $180 million in damage, the agency said. Three battalions of troops and police dispatched to the city evacuated 44,000 people, while 76,000 remained stranded. About 12 inches of rain fell during the storm, or about a third of the annual average. Tens of thousands of acres of farmland were inundated, and the local section of the Beijing-Guangzhou railway was blocked for 19 hours.