Torrential rains halt trains in south China

Torrential rains have pounded parts of south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, disrupting railway traffic and drinking water supplies, local authorities said Friday.

Six passenger trains on a major railway near the city of Baise were forced to stop halfway through their journey after rainstorms destroyed a 35-meter-long roadbed, a spokesman for local railway authorities said.

More than 300 workers have been dispatched to repair the road and conduct safety checks on the railway, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, rainstorms have destroyed houses, cut off road traffic, inundated crops, cut off drinking water supplies and damaged power, telecommunications and irrigation facilities in Baise's Lingyun County, a county government spokesman said.

More than 77,000 rural residents have been affected, he said.

More torrential rains will hit the county over the next few days, which will complicate disaster relief operations, according to local meteorological authorities.