BEIJING (AP) — China’s government says flooding over the past week in the country’s south has killed 37 people, left six missing, and forced almost half a million people from their homes.

The seasonal rains have fallen especially hard on the country’s manufacturing hub of Guangdong province near Hong Kong, where 17 of the deaths have been reported.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs says at least 25,000 homes have been destroyed by the flood waters and at least 440,000 people have been displaced.

More thunderstorms are forecast for Guangdong on Tuesday.

China’s worst floods in recent history were in 1998, when 4,150 people died, most of them along the Yangtze River, China’s mightiest.

The massive Three Gorges Dam has largely contained Yangtze flooding, but the problem persists in the south and north.

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APPHOTO XHG802: In this photo taken Sunday May 25, 2014, Chinese rescue workers evacuate residents by boats through flood waters in Shangli county in central China’s Jiangxi province. Flooding over the past week in China’s south has killed 37 people, left six missing, and forced almost half a million people from their homes, the government said Monday, May 26. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT (25 May 2014)

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APPHOTO XHG801: In this photo taken Sunday May 25, 2014, a child tries to ride a bicycle through flood waters in Liling city in south China’s Hunan province. Flooding over the past week in China’s south has killed 37 people, left six missing, and forced almost half a million people from their homes, the government said Monday, May 26. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT (25 May 2014)

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