Beijing Heavy rains and ensuing floods continued to plague southern parts of China, affecting over five million and vast swaths of farmland in different provinces of the country, reports PTI. Latest data from the flood control headquarters of east Zhejiang Province showed that, 2.66 million people had been affected by continuous rainstorms in 545 townships of 50 counties under nine cities in Zhejiang province. A total of 1,71,000 hectares of crops were destroyed and 989 enterprises were shut down, incurring 4.96 billion yuan ($ 751.5 million) in direct economic losses, official Xinhua news agency reported today. Persistent downpours caused a mudslide in Changshan County today, which flushed several local homes at Longtan Village of Tianma Town, killing two and leaving one missing.

According to the provincial bureau of civil affairs of central Hubei, heavy rain from Friday to yesterday killed at least two in the province, with two more missing taking the toll in the floods in recent weeks to over 180. A total of 3.1 million local residents in 31 counties were affected by the rain.