Rain triggers S China landslide, flight delays

Rain and hailstorms since Saturday have brought landslides and flight delays to south China's Guangdong province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Local authorities confirmed on Monday that two people had been killed in the continuous rainstorms in Shenzhen City of Guangdong, while multiple embankments in the city have been destroyed by the rush of water.

The news brings the total number of deaths in Guangdong to nine, while two remained missing as of 9 am on Monday.

Heavy rain has also grounded flights and stranded passengers at major airports of Guangdong since Sunday.

As of 1:30 pm, a total of 93 flights had been canceled at the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport on Monday, with 96 outbound flights delayed for at least two hours, according to sources with the airport.

Schools in Shenzhen suspended classes on Monday, as the local weather department warned the rain will be accompanied by strong thunder and lightning.

In Ziyuan county, Guangxi, rescuers continue to search for a mine worker who was buried by a landslide on Sunday.

Two giant rocks from the rain-soaked mine hill fell on roads on Sunday. Mine workers were clearing the rocks when the landslide occurred, which left one of them missing and another injured.

On Monday morning, the China Central Meteorological Station maintained a blue rainstorm alert for the region, down from a red one given on Sunday.

China has a four-tier rainstorm alert system, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

The storms that have swept swathes of south China recently have caused 16 deaths, and left two remain missing as of 9 am on Monday, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA).

About 834,000 people have been affected by the disaster, the MCA said on its official website.