At least 70 killed, aid for flood victims boosted

At least 70 killed, aid for flood victims boosted

GUANGZHOU - Severe [siˈviə](严重的) rainstorms(暴雨) that have killed at least 70 people since Wednesday are expected to continue in the southern and central parts of the country, with strong winds and hailstorms(冰雹) in some areas, meteorological(气象的) authorities have said.

Inclement [ɪnˈklemənt](恶劣的) weather in the next two days will affect Guangdong, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces as well as the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous [ɔ:ˈtɔnəməs](自治的) region, the China Meteorological Administrationforecast [ˈfɔ:-kɑ:st](预测)on Sunday.

On Sunday, authorities sounded a yellow-level alert [əˈlə:t](警报), two levels lower than the highest red alert, to warn of storms continuing in Guangdong, Hunan, Fujian, and Jiangxi provinces until Monday.

Torrential [tɔ:ˈrenʃəl, tə-](持续的)rain, gale(大风) and hail are also expected to hit the areas, the administration said.

Many affected areas, such as Yunnan and Guizhou, had just emerged(出现) from the worst drought [draut](干旱) in decades.