BEIJING, June 25: More than 750 people are feared dead in severe floods which have devastated large areas of China, official figures showed Tuesday, as an aid agency warned many of those affected were among the country’s most vulnerable.

Updated statistics from the Ministry of Civil Affairs said 453 people had been confirmed dead in eight provinces and municipalities, the worst-hit of which was the northern province of Shaanxi where 151 perished.

These figures did not include a further estimated 300 people missing in Shaanxi who were “not expected to be found alive”, according to Shaanxi’s acting governor Jia Zhibang.

Such a high death toll so early in the flood season — which lasts well into September — will spark fears that even more people could die this year than in the terrible floods of 1998, which killed more than 4,000.

More than 57 million people had been affected by this year’s flooding so far, with 800,000 rooms destroyed, said the ministry, which measures housing losses this way.

So far 683,000 people have been left homeless, the Red Cross in China said as it launched an appeal on Tuesday for flood victims.

The floods cut a swathe through a vast section of the country, from Shaanxi in the north through to Sichuan and Chongqing municipality to the southwest and Fujian and Jiangxi provinces to the southeast, the ministry said.

Additionally, more than two million hectares (five million acres) of crops have been damaged.

Although this year’s floods have a lower death toll so far than in 1998, they already cover a far greater area — 19 provinces compared to mainly 10 provinces — officials at the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation said Tuesday.

“It’s basically a nationwide problem,” Liu Wenkui, an assistant to the group’s director, told a news briefing.

The other significant point about this year’s floods, he said, is that many of those affected can least afford to cope with the losses.

“The first stage of the flooding, particularly, affected the poorer regions. Many of the counties are designated as the nation’s poorest counties,” said Liu.

The foundation, a major non-governmental agency in China which has been sending donations to flood victims, said Tuesday it had collected 10 million yuan (one million dollars) worth of supplies for the flooded areas.

“The situation in the disaster regions is very difficult,” Liu said.

“There are some places you can’t even get to (because the roads are washed out). Many people are homeless. Many people are waiting for relief, especially food.”—AFP