24 rains in southwest China kill 7, more than 600 rescued

Heavy downpours in China's southwest have killed seven people and left three others missing, state media reported Sunday, according to AP.
Authorities in Linshui county in Sichuan province rescued 604 people and relocated more than 23,300 to safer places following the rains that lasted for 18 hours Saturday, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Footage broadcast on China Central Television showed soldiers rescuing residents trapped in apartment buildings surrounded by high waters, including a woman and child holding on to ropes as they were lowered to a boat.
China's meteorological center forecast heavy rain would continue in southwest and central China until Monday afternoon.