At least 27 people have died and dozens are missing after torrential rains and flooding in north and southwest China. Xinhua news agency today said unprecedented rains since last Friday have swamped huge portions of Sichuan province in China's southwest, with the region braced for further disaster as downpours continue and rivers swell. It said officials in Sichuan's Dazhou and Guangan regions have ordered the evacuation of over 600,000 people as major tributaries to the Yangtze, China's longest river, surpass dangerous levels. The Jialing river had already risen above alert levels by nearly seven metres and waters were expected to rise to the highest levels since record keeping began in 1847. The news agency said the floods and rains have led to the collapse of over 2,000 homes and damage to 10,000 others.