China floods pummel export heartland

(Recasts, changes dateline and byline, adds details)

By John Ruwitch

DONGGUAN, China, June 17 (Reuters) - China's far-southern industrial hub braced on Tuesday for floods that have killed 169 across the region, adding to the toll of natural disasters that have pummelled the nation in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics.

Officials in Guangdong province, the vast, densely populated economic powerhouse neighbouring Hong Kong, warned of a "black June" as high tides, rain and two converging swollen rivers threatened levees, Xinhua news agency said.

Heavy rains in south China in the past 10 days have forced the evacuation of 1.66 million people, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said. Direct economic losses totalled nearly 15 billion yuan ($2.2 billion). The death toll covered the period since the flood season began at the beginning of the summer.

Guangdong expects possible flooding in the low-lying Pearl River Delta, which embraces several big export manufacturing zones, including Foshan, Zhongshan and the provincial capital, Guangzhou.

In the suburbs of the delta city of Dongguan, one of the Pearl River's many tributaries remained swollen, but residents said the muddy-brown water had dropped significantly.

A 64-year-old farmer, who gave only his surname, Liang, was tending to a small patch of yams, lotus and other vegetables on the banks of the river. "The water came up to here," Liang said, pointing at a spot on the levee about 10-12 feet above the water level. "It washed away all my cabbages."

The typhoon season has begun, ensuring further disaster for the coast of sub-tropical Guangdong, home to 110 million permanent and migrant residents, over the summer.

"The Pearl River Delta river network has suffered not only the biggest volume floods in over 50 years but simultaneously also the highest tides in over 10 years," said a report on the Guangdong water resources office Web site (www.gdwater.gov.cn).

Rarely a year goes by when China does not suffer floods, drought and other natural disasters somewhere on its huge landmass.

Fierce snow storms blanketed much of the south in January and the country is reeling from the May 12 quake centred on southwest Sichuan province that killed more than 70,000.

Parts of the quake zone and other provinces have also been battered by heavy rains, floods and landslide risks as Beijing prepares to host the Olympics in August.

In Wenchuan County, site of the quake epicentre, troops were rushing to move close to 20,000 people threatened by landslides as heavy rains approached, Xinhua reported. More than 52,000 had already moved out of threatened areas, the report said.

Flooding has struck as far north as Longnan, on the southern tip of Gansu province, north of Sichuan, where 365 died and 1.8 million were left homeless after the May 12 quake.

As well as the 169 killed in the floods across the south, Guangdong officials are also counting the cost in lost production, waterlogged crops and transport disruption.

Roads and highways in the province have suffered damage amounting to about 600 million yuan ($86 million), Xinhua reported.

The National Meteorological Centre forecast more downpours for nine provinces -- including the already battered Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and Jiangxi -- across south and east China in the next two days, warning of floods, lightning and landslides. (Additional reporting by Chris Buckley and Guo Shipeng in Beijing; Editing by Nick Macfie and Roger Crabb)