More than two million people were affected or displaced due to heavy floods in the eastern province of Zhejiang in China.
Torrential rains have left huge areas of the relatively wealthy province underwater, with 171,000 hectares of farmland inundated, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Almost 1,000 businesses have been forced to shut down, 2.6 million people have had their lives disrupted and direct financial damages were estimated at almost $734.54 million, Xinhua reported.
More than 170 people were dead or went missing in eastern and southern China due to floods till now.
Roads and railways have been blocked but aid supplies are arriving, reports said. The country's weather bureau said sky is expected to be clear by Monday.
The government has described the flood in the eastern province of Zhejiang as the worst since 1955.
In 1931, during the Nanjing decade, a series of floods occurred that was considered the deadliest natural disaster of the 20th century in China. The human deaths were estimated between 3 million and 4 million.
A driver wades through floodwater after his bus was stranded in a flooded tunnel in Wuhan, Hubei province June 18, 2011. As of Thursday evening, floods caused by the recent four days of rain had resulted in 19 deaths and seven missing in Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces and the Chongqing municipality, local media reported. Picture taken June 18, 2011.REUTERSA man paddles a boat through an area affected by the floods in Moshan village, Zhejiang province June 19, 2011. China has mobilised troops to help with flood relief and raised its disaster alert to the highest level after days of downpours forced the evacuation of more than half a million people in central and southern provinces. Central authorities have raised the disaster alert to the highest level 4, and the government is describing the floods in some areas, such as eastern Zhejiang province's Qianting River area, as the worst since 1955.REUTERSA man looks out from his stranded car on a flooded street in Wuhan, Hubei province June 18, 2011. As of Thursday evening, floods caused by the recent four days of rain resulted in 19 deaths and seven missing in Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces and the Chongqing municipality, local media reported.REUTERSResidents climb ladders to get to higher ground from a flooded tunnel in Wuhan, Hubei province June 18, 2011. As of Thursday evening, floods caused by the recent four days of rain resulted in 19 deaths and seven missing in Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces and the Chongqing municipality, local media reportedREUTERSA flooded area is seen in Sanjiangkou village, Zhejiang province June 18, 2011. China has mobilised troops to help with flood relief and raised its disaster alert to the highest level after days of downpours forced the evacuation of more than half a million people in central and southern provinces. Central authorities have raised the disaster alert to the highest level 4, and the government is describing the floods in some areas, such as eastern Zhejiang province's Qianting River area, as the worst since 1955.REUTERSA woman holds her son at an evacuation centre for people affected by floods in the area around Sanjiangkou village, Zhejiang province June 18, 2011. China has mobilised troops to help with flood relief and raised its disaster alert to the highest level after days of downpours forced the evacuation of more than half a million people in central and southern provinces. Central authorities have raised the disaster alert to the highest level 4, and the government is describing the floods in some areas, such as eastern Zhejiang province's Qianting River area, as the worst since 1955.REUTERS
