33,000 evacuated in China floods

BEIJING - Around 33,000 people had to be evacuated as floods wreaked havoc in China’s Hainan province, officials said.

Floods inundated over 100 villages in Hainan island, forcing the evacuation of the residents, Xinhua reported citing the provincial flood control and drought relief office.

In Qionghai, traffic was paralysed as its urban areas were inundated.

A major highway was also flooded and traffic movement was not expected to resume for at least five days.

Tourism has also been hit by the floods. Ten major tourist destinations received only 29,200 visitors Tuesday, a decline of 42.8 percent year-on-year, the local tourism administration said.

Hainan island is famous for tropical tourism and attracts millions of tourists every year.

The floods also damaged 7,420 hectares of crops, according to the civil affairs department. Economic loss has been estimated at 39.6 million yuan ($5.9 million).