Severe Flooding In Central China Kills 12

Severe flooding in central China's Henan province caused by torrential rains has caused at least 12 fatalities, local media reported Wednesday.

Search and rescue teams have reached the bodies of 12 people so far in flood-affected areas of Henan's capital city of Zhengzhou, while 100,000 people were forced to evacuate, said China's state-run Xinhua news agency.

In a statement, the Zhengzhou local government said it was difficult to bring the flood situation under control and the level of the disaster was raised to the "highest level."

Torrential rains have battered Henan province since the weekend, causing rivers to burst their banks and flooding the streets of a dozen cities in the region. -