BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- More than 66.3 million
Chinese have been affected by floods this summer, with 360 people killed and
direct economic losses of 24.3 billion yuan, according to latest figures from
the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

    Apart from 217,000 houses wholly or partially
destroyed, more than 4.28 million hectares of grain crops have been hit, with
2.03million hectares completely destroyed, said Cheng Dianlong, deputy director
of the Office of the headquarters.

    Most of the deaths occurred after continuous
downpours across the Jialing River Valley in southwest China's Sichuan Province
since the beginning of the month which have resulted in floods in almost all the
tributaries of Jujiang River, a branch of the Jialing, and triggered severe
mountain torrents, mud-rock flows and landslides, he said.

    The ferocious floods battered 40 counties along their
route, submerging the downtown areas of four counties and shattering two small
water dams.

    Cheng warned that the situation across the Huaihe
River Valley is at flashpoint with all trunk rivers there reporting dangerously
high water levels.

    The floods in the River Valley are reminiscent of the
grave situation in 2003, Cheng said.

    To cope with the situation, the headquarters have
launched a red-alert emergency reaction scheme, maneuvering upper-reach
reservoirs to retain water and diverting water into other waterways to weaken
flood peaks.

    More than half a million people in Henan, Jiangsu and
Anhui provinces along the river have been mobilized to patrol water dams and
riverbanks around-the-clock to detect and prevent dangerous conditions. More
than 80,000 residents have been evacuated.

    A total of 212 minor risky conditions have been
reported so far in waterways in Henan and Anhui provinces.

    "People are putting up a difficult defense with the
water level of the tributary Hongru River above the safety mark," Cheng said.

    By Monday, the three provinces had reported 5.67
billion yuan of direct economic losses, nearly one quarter of the national
total.