204 Are Killed in China Floods

BEIJING — Flooding has devastated villages and crops in southern China, killing at least 204 people and leaving 79 missing at the start of the summer flood season on Wednesday, the government said Sunday.

Hunan province was the worst hit, with the death toll rising to 75 Sunday, the official New China News Agency said. Forty-six people in the province were missing.

Three days of torrential rains last week washed away mountain villages in Hunan and damaged tens of thousands of homes, schools and other facilities, the agency said. Flooded roads and highways hampered rescue and evacuation efforts, it said.

More than 200,000 people have been evacuated.