Floods, landslides and mudflows triggered by torrential rains have killed 652 people in China by Sunday, according to the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

The floods, mainly in south and east China, caused 52.5 billion yuan (US$6.9 billion) in direct economic losses, the office said.

It added that the floods also brought down 452,000 houses, affected 119.15 million people and 7.87 million hectares of crops.

The office said that water levels of the swollen Huaihe River have been above the warning line for more than 20 days and the situation would maintain for around a week even with no more rainfall.

The water levels at the sections of lower reaches to Wangjiaba, a key hydrological station on the middle reaches of Huaihe, were still 0.44 to 1.40 meters higher than the danger level on Sunday, said the office.

Some dikes on the tributaries of the Huaihe River are in danger of collapsing after being washed by waves of water for continuous days, said the office.

It added a total of 268,000 people in the provinces of Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu were mobilized to fight floods along the Huaihe River.

The meteorological authorities forecast heavy rains would hit the country's southwest, northwest and northeast regions in the coming days.

China, however, is also being plagued by drought in its northern region including Heilongjiang Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and even parts of its southern region.

The office said that drought has left 5.88 million people and 4.7 million heads of livestock short of drinking water and affected 9.33 million hectares of arable land.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2007)