Downpour traps residents in SW China county

Rains sweep through Menghai county, Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture in Southwest China’s Yunnan province on Aug 23, 2011. With rainfall reaching 159 millimeters, low-lying areas in the county were inundated with water. About 80 households have been flooded, and several thousand people are trapped in their homes. Hundreds of locally stationed army soldiers, fire brigades and the police force have been dispatched on a rescue mission, moving residents through the floodwaters with rubber boats and oars.[Photo/CFP]