Torrential rain across south eastern China has displaced or otherwise affected over 5 million people, killing scores and threatening global commodity prices.

More than 100 people have already died and 500 thousand people have evacuated as weeks of rainstorms pummel the Zhejiang providence.

More than 7,000 homes collapsed or were otherwise damaged and direct financial damage was estimated at almost 6 billion yuan, according to local media reports.

Weeks of rainstorms in the stricken province of Zhejiang in the Yangtze delta have caused nearly 5 billion yuan ($772 million) of damage, reducing vegetable production by 20 percent and pushing prices in the provincial capital of Hangzhou up by as much as 40 percent, Xinhua said.

The increase in the consumer price index reported last week was in line with expectations but higher than April's 5.3 percent and March's 5.4 percent.

The National Statistics Bureau said the main factor was an 11.7 percent jump in food prices.

China mobilized troops across the region to rescue stricken farmers and distribute food.

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A man eats lunch next to an flooded area in Sanjiangkou village Reuters
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Men play cards at an evacuation center for people affected by the floods in Sanjiangkou village Reuters
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Residents row a boat through a flooded house in Sanjiangkou village Reuters
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Residents climb ladders to get to higher ground from a flooded tunnel in Wuhan, Hubei province Reuters
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A girl puts on her boots near a flooded tunnel in Wuhan, Hubei province Reuters
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A man looks out from his stranded car on a flooded street in Wuhan, Hubei province Reuters
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A man walks through a flooded area in Moshan village, Zhejiang province Reuters
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