66 dead, 10 missing after heavy rain in S China

BEIJING - Heavy rain in China's eastern, southern and southwestern areas since May 4 has led to 66 deaths with 11 people still unaccounted for, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) said Wednesday.

As of Wednesday morning, over 4.66 million people had been affected, with 95,000 people relocated.

The MCA added that 68,000 people are in need of basic living assistance, 5,200 houses had collapsed and 74,000 were damaged.

A total of 268,000 hectares of crops were damaged, including 28,300 hectares that were totally destroyed, with direct economic losses estimated at 5.33 billion yuan ($820 million  dollars), the MCA said.