Floods devastate China, drive up cost of food

Rainfall expected to boost China's agricultural production have instead caused widespread flooding, increased food prices and caused death in the East and South of the People's Republic.

In Zhejiang province in China's South, crops have been submerged in water, reducing vegetable production by 20 percent and rising the average price of vegetables by 40 percent.

Chinese authorities count roughly 170 people dead or missing, according to an article in China Daily. Some 3 million residents have been affected, and well over 7,000 homes have been damaged or collapsed.

It is expected that provinces throughout the eastern and southern seaboard will experience similar effects.

The floods, which began earlier this month, were slated to stave off an impending food crisis brought on by a severe drought this winter season, which world economists thought would contribute to the rising cost of wheat.