Rainstorms battering southern China have killed at least seven people and allowed dozens of crocodiles to escape from a farm.

Nearby residents were advised to stay at home after more than 70 crocodiles escaped in Maoming, a city near the coast in western Guangdong province, according to Chinese media reports.

Heavy rainfall has flooded parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with one city declaring a state of emergency as water poured into homes, creating moats around their foundations, and stranded drivers.

Mayor Dean Mazzarella in Leominster, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Boston, urged people not to venture outside as roads flooded Monday night, but some residents were evacuated as water came into their basements. All schools were closed Tuesday and two shelters were set up.

At least 2,300 people were killed in Libya and thousands more were reported missing after catastrophic flash floods broke river dams and tore though an eastern coastal city, devastating entire neighborhoods.

As global concern spread, multiple nations offered to urgently send aid and rescue teams to help the war-scarred country that has been overwhelmed by what one U.N. official labelled "a calamity of epic proportions."

Climate change is sparking human rights emergencies in numerous countries, the U.N. rights chief said Monday, stressing the need to fight the impunity of those who "plunder our environment."

The number of confirmed deaths from recent flooding in central Greece rose to 15 after the bodies of four people previously considered missing were found on Sunday, authorities said.

Three of the bodies were located in villages near the city of Karditsa in western Thessaly. They are an 88-year-old woman and her 65-year-old son, who were found in their home, as well as a 58-year-old man whose body was found between two villages.

At least 20 people were reported dead Monday in eastern Libya after the Mediterranean storm Daniel caused devastating floods over the weekend in different parts of the North African nation. Authorities declared at least one city a disaster zone.

The dead included 12 people in the eastern town of Bayda, the town's main medical center said. Another seven people were reported dead in the coastal town of Susa in northeastern Libya, according to the Ambulance and Emergency Authority.

Severe rainstorms eased but floodwaters were still rising in parts of central Greece Friday, while fire department and military helicopters were plucking people from villages inundated by tons of water and mud that have left at least six dead, six missing and many people clinging to the roofs of their homes.

Flooding triggered by rainstorms also hit neighboring Bulgaria and Turkey, killing a total of 18 people in all three countries since the rains began Tuesday.

Heavy rain in Hong Kong and southern China overnight flooded city streets and some subway stations, with hundreds evacuated and two deaths reported in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong authorities said during a joint news conference Friday that the extreme weather was expected to last until at least midnight, with widespread flooding and heavy disruptions to public transport in multiple districts.

Hurricane Lee whirled through open waters on Thursday as forecasters warned it could become the first Category 5 storm of the Atlantic season.

Lee was not expected to make landfall while on a projected path that will take it near the northeast Caribbean, although forecasters said tropical storm conditions are possible on some islands. Meteorologists said it was too early to provide details on potential rainfall and wind gusts.

Flooding from a cyclone in southern Brazil washed away houses, trapped motorists in vehicles and swamped streets in several cities, killing at least 31 people and leaving 2,300 homeless, authorities said Wednesday.

More than 60 cities have been battered since Monday night by the storm, which has been Rio Grande do Sul state's deadliest, Gov. Eduardo Leite said.