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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Floods In China Kill 387, Strand 3 Million

Compiled From Wire Services

Soldiers carried elderly people on their backs through waist-high water today as the worst floods in 40 years inundated south China’s Hunan province, destroying 160,000 houses and killing 387 people.

Water levels in rivers and lakes were at record highs following two weeks of torrential rains. The resulting floods broke dams, submerged cities and farms and cut roads and telephone lines in much of the province, the China Daily said.

National television showed villages awash in floodwaters up to the eaves of houses as brown water tumbled like rapids across fields.

About 3 million people were stranded by the floods, some for more than four days, officials said.