Flooding from Tropical Storm Maysak has killed 39 people in southern China, most of them after a dam breach inundated the city of Nanning, officials said Thursday.

Vice Mayor Ding Wei announced the toll at a news briefing, up sharply from a previous count of six, after record rainfall breached reservoirs and sent torrents of water through towns and cities in the Guangxi region.

The dam breach in Nanning killed 26 people, Ding said. About 130,000 people have been evacuated from the region, and drones and thousands of boats have been used in a huge relief and rescue operation to reach people trapped by the waters.

Heavy rain battered southern Guangxi for days, with cumulative rainfall of 10-40cm in some areas and more than 90cm in hard-hit areas, the national meteorological centre said.

More than 8,000 people and about 5,700 boats have been deployed in the rescue operation, with rescuers battling strong currents and debris to reach victims.

Ding said the floodwaters are receding, but more rain is expected in certain areas in the next two days. Crews have been deployed to clear mud and debris and disinfect several towns in hard-hit Hengzhou city.

Road repairs are ongoing, and electricity has been restored to more than 60,000 homes. At least 100 animals, including alpacas, miniature pigs and zebras, escaped Guangxi province’s Guigang Zoo after the flooding damaged their enclosures.

The zoo appealed to the public for help in finding its escaped animals, which include two North American raccoons, four porcupines and thirty peacocks. The zoo warned that some escapees may be frightened and potentially aggressive.

Source: www.aljazeera.com