Floods in S China kill 22, displaces nearly 200,000

Floods, landslides and mud flows had killed 22 and displaced 197,000 in southern China since heavy rain began Saturday, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Monday.

According to the Ministry, by 9 a.m. Monday, about 3.7 million people in seven provinces, including Hubei and Sichuan, and Chongqing Municipality, had been affected by the disasters. A total of 20 people are still missing.

More than 2,400 homes were destroyed and 20,900 hectares of crops were destroyed. Direct economic losses from the floods hit 2.68 billion yuan (about 407.9 million U.S. dollars), the ministry said.

Statistics from the ministry also showed that floods and hail resulted in the deaths of two and displaced 13,000 in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region after the region was battered by bad weather from June 16 to June 19. One people is still missing. source : xinhua