175 lives lost from heavy flooding in China

Yesterday Chinese authorities announced that at least 175 persons had lost their lives from heavy flooding in southern China on the weekend.{{more}}

More heavy rains were forecasted for the coming days.

The state-run China Daily newspaper reported, citing the Ministry of Civil Affairs, announced that the mud flows and floods have left 93 people missing and have prompted the evacuation of more than 1 million people.

The heavy rains have affected more than 15 million people in nine of southern China’s provinces, including Fujian, Jiangxi, and Hunan provinces, the ministry told China Daily.

Economic losses have topped 19.7 billion yuan (U.S. $2.9 billion), officials said. The disaster has affected 784,200 hectares of crops and flattened more than 178,000 houses,reported the China Daily.

Officials have urged local governments to boost anti-flood measures to prevent further damages.