Heavy rainstorms and floods that have ravaged Chongqing Municipality and Shandong Province in the last few days have left 74 people dead and caused more than four billion yuan (about US$526 million) in financial losses.

According to a report jointly issued on Friday by the National Committee for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the rainstorms and floods had affected a total of 6.8 million people in Chongqing in southwest China and Shandong in the eastern part of the country.

Since July 16, rainstorms affected 33 districts or counties in Chongqing, leading to the deaths of 42 people, rendering 12 missing, forcing the relocation of 292,000 and affecting a total of 6.44 million.

More than 100,000 houses were damaged and 192,500 hectares of farmland were affected, including the devastation of 175,000 hectares, according to the report.

On July 18, Shandong experienced its first heavy rainstorm this summer, which affected 417,000 local people of 2,676 families living in eight cities and 15 counties. Thirty-two people were killed and 112,300 local people were transferred to safer places.

Heavy rainstorms and floods have damaged 2,305 houses and caused more than 1.5 billion yuan in direct property losses to local people.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Finance have allocated 435 billion yuan to 18 disaster-stricken regions so far this year.

The latest disaster relief funds were given to the Chongqing Municipality on Thursday.

China's death toll from natural disasters had reached 715 by July 16 this year, and 129 people are missing, according to statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

A total of 200 million people were affected by natural disasters, including floods, landslides, droughts, gales, snowstorms and earthquakes, while 4.45 million people were forced to leave their homes.

(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2007)