July 09, 2007	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 23, 1428

BEIJING: At least 68 people were reported dead or missing due to fierce weather in China over the past week, with most of the fatalities due to flooding in the nation’s southwest, state press said on Sunday.

The new toll comes after the state flood and drought prevention headquarters said last week that floods, landslides and storms had taken the lives of 233 people nationwide from the beginning of the year through July 2. Since then, 26 people have died and 17 gone missing in flooding in Sichuan province in China's southwest where torrential rains have pummelled the region through Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

So far 320,000 people have been evacuated in 43 cities and counties in the province, where flooding last week destroyed up to 20,000 homes and vast areas of croplands and cut off roads and electricity, it said.

Total economic losses in the region are estimated at three billion yuan, (395 million dollars), it added.

Meanwhile water levels exceeded warning marks along China's Huaihe river in eastern Anhui, where officials are feverishly working to shore up dykes and divert water to reservoirs and lakes in the lower reaches.—AFP