Floods have left 94 people dead and 25 others missing in seven provinces in China, a spokesman with the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Sunday.

About 16.67 million people had been affected and 555,100 people in Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan, Chongqing and Shaanxi evacuated by 4 PM on Sunday.

More than 49,000 houses collapsed and another 240,100 were damaged as a result of torrential rains which began lashing Huaihe River valley, east area of Sichuan Province and south area of Shaanxi Province on June 28.

Altogether 1.23 million hectares of farmland were affected, with agricultural losses estimated at 1.95 billion yuan (about US$256.9 million) while total direct economic losses could reach 3.83 billion yuan, according to the spokesman.

Heavy rains also triggered mountain torrents, water loggings, landslides and mudflows.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2007)