Storms and torrential rain caused widespread flooding and landslides that left at least 33 people dead and 12 missing in southern China, the government said on Friday, dpa reported.
At least 19 died and 11 were missing in the worst-hit province of Guangdong after rainstorms swept across most parts of southern China from Tuesday, the Ministry of Civil Affairs reported.
The storms, floods and landslides destroyed 2,675 houses and affected some 650,000 people in Guangdong, provincial officials said.
The worst flooding for about 100 years was reported along a tributary of Guangdong's Beijiang river, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The Qujiang district of Guangdong's Shaoguan city recorded 339.8 millimetres of rain from Tuesday to Thursday morning, the agency said.
The rainstorms were forecast to weaken on Friday before battering many parts of Guangdong again on Saturday, provincial meteorologists said.