By Dan Griffiths
BBC News, Guangdong province
The village of Hekou is underwater.
The river here burst its banks after weeks of torrential rain.
The only way to get round is by boat. That is how local resident Mr He takes me to see his home. Japan, China agree on disputed gas field ...
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We paddle down narrow streets that have become rivers of brown muddy water. In his mid-60s, with a weathered face, Mr He has lived in Hekou for much of his life.
"It often floods here," he tells me, "but this is the worst in several years. Many people have moved away to stay with relatives until the waters drop."
When we get there I can see the ground floor is completely flooded. The family has moved upstairs - a rickety wooden ladder the only way to get there.
Mrs He was leaning over the balcony of her home, still wearing her pyjamas.
"How are things?" I shout up.
"A little bit difficult at the moment," she replies. "I can't get of the house, so my husband has to fetch everything by boat."
Open despite floods
The local restaurant has been worst hit. It is right on the riverbank. Two floors are under water, and table tops are floating around the room.
The kitchen is connected to the main building by just a narrow gangplank over the fast-flowing waters.
Beyond that, there is a surreal sight: ocean-going container ships heading upstream, just a few metres behind the restaurant.
Despite the chaos the restaurant is still open for lunch.
"The waters are going down," one customer tells me.
A waitress disagrees. "I think they are still going up," she says.
Hekou is in the southern province of Guangdong - one of China’s economic heartlands.
Goods from this part of the world are exported around the globe.
But the rains have had an impact - the government says losses from the flooding across the south could run into billions of dollars.
Here in Hekou, the villagers are getting back to work. I come across a small red brick warehouse in one of the streets. It has escaped the worst of the flooding.
Inside, a group of women are sitting round a table assembling plastic clips that go on bags and rucksacks.
"We moved out when the flooding was really bad," Miss Song told me. "This is our first day back."
Across southern China, there are similar situations. Nearly six million people have been affected by the flooding in one way or another.
China’s rainy season causes havoc every year.
But this year China has already had the snowstorms that paralyzed much of the country, and last month’s devastating earthquake.
This latest flooding is another major challenge for the Chinese people and their government, just weeks before the Olympic Games get under way in Beijing.
(BBC)
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