At least 22 people have been killed and 3.7 million hit by flooding and landslides in China, which has been battling heavy rains for the past three days that have caused economic losses worth over $400 million, officials said on Monday.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs said that about 3.7 million people in seven provinces, including Hubei and Sichuan, have been hit by flooding, landslides and mud flows since Saturday.
Direct economic losses due to the flooding has hit 2.68 billion yuan ($ 407.9 million), the ministry said.
Over 2,400 homes were damaged and 20,900 hectares of crops were destroyed in the summer rainstorms, which were heavier than usual. Ministry statistics showed that floods and hailstorms resulted in the death of two persons and displaced 13,000 in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.