Torrential rains and floods, the worst in a decade, have claimed the lives of 701 people and left 347 missing in China since the beginning of the year, according to government figures Wednesday, Xinhua reported.
Floods had hit 27 provinces and municipalities, affected 110 million people and forced the evacuation of 8.06 million of them, the figures from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Civil Affairs show.
They also affected more than 7 million hectares of farmland and toppled 645,000 houses. Direct economic losses had reached 142.2 billion yuan (20.88 billion U.S. dollars), Liu Ning, vice minister of Water Resources and secretary general of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, said at a press conference Wednesday.
Since the beginning of April when the flood season started, more than 230 rivers have seen water levels pass the danger mark. Some areas along the Yangtze River even experienced the worst flooding in 30 years.
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River had recently buffered the worst flood in decades, blocking more than 40 percent of the water.
Flood waters had breached six small reservoirs this year, but timely evacuations prevented any casualties, he said.
About 287,000 military personnel had been mobilized in flood operations, he said.