BEIJING - Flooding and heavy rain in southern China have forced 400,000 people to evacuate their homes and killed at least 15, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The estimated number of people forced out of their homes had more than doubled from 150,000 on Saturday, with 140,000 displaced in Hunan province and 100,000 in Jiangxi province.

A further 140,000 were affected in the region of Guangxi, where 62 schools were flooded.

Xinhua said 300 students were trapped in one boarding school, but local authorities had managed to restore power supplies and deliver food and drinking water.

After four days of torrential downpours, the rain began to subside in some parts of Guangxi on Sunday, but local authorities warned of more flooding as river levels remained high.