Direct economic losses from floods this year reached 48.5 billion yuan
(US$7.08 billion) as of yesterday, the Office of State Flood Control and Drought
Relief Headquarters said.
The floods left 305 people dead and 73 missing in 23 localities, with more
than 61.4 million people and 3.64 million hectares of farmland affected and
249,000 houses destroyed, the office said.
Zhang Zhitong, vice director of the office, said two rain systems hit
northeast and northern China, including Beijing, and the southwest and south in
early July, which triggered floods in 11 jurisdictions.
However, Zhang said that the death toll and the number of homes destroyed
fell by 73 percent and 69 percent, respectively, compared with the same period
last year as the central and local governments undertook preventive steps.
