The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Beijing

State media are reporting that 55 people have been killed and seven are missing in flooding across a broad stretch of southern China.

A Sunday report by the official Xinhua News Agency says more than 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes across nine provinces, including Sichuan, which is still reeling from last month's earthquake that killed almost 70,000 people.

Heavy rain in Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces will further raise water levels downstream, especially in the coastal manufacturing powerhouse of Guangdong, Xinhua says.

Most of those areas are expected to receive more heavy rain over the next 10 days.