Downpours that have ravaged southern China since Sunday have left 69 dead, 44 missing and uprooted nearly a half million residents as of 4:00 p.m. Friday, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

About 5.65 million people in 172 cities in seven southern regions were affected by the heavy rains, namely Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guizhou and Sichuan, the ministry said in a statement.

Further, the rains and ensuing floods and landslides have engulfed roughly 300,000 hectares of crops, of which 27,500 hectares of crops have been destroyed, it said, adding that about 98,000 homes have collapsed or been damaged.

Also, the heavy rains are being blamed for direct economic losses of 6.5 billion yuan (about 950 million U.S. dollars).

On Friday, the ministry sent 3,000 tents to Guangxi, one of the areas hardest hit by the heavy rains, to provide shelter for people left homeless by the floods.

The ministry and the Chinese National Committee for Disaster Reduction initiated a level-IV emergency response plan on Wednesday, sending work teams to guide the relief efforts in the worst-hit regions - Fujian and Guangxi.

According to the ministry's working regulations on emergency response issued last year, emergency response plans should be implemented to help with natural-disaster relief work across the country.