BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Torrential rain has ravaged China's 17 provincial areas since July 20, leaving 95 dead and another 45 missing, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Monday.

Natural disasters caused by the downpours have affected about 6.23 million people in 264 counties in 17 provincial areas and forced the evacuation of about 567,000 people, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry reported 37 deaths in Beijing municipality, 17 deaths and 21 missing in Hebei province, 8 deaths and two missing in Sichuan province, six deaths and four missing in Yunnan province, five deaths in Chongqing municipality, four deaths and one missing in Shanxi province, three deaths in Inner Mongolia autonomous region, three deaths and 14 missing in Shaanxi province.

Rainstorms also destroyed 29,000 houses and damaged another 55,000.

National disaster relief and civil affairs authorities initiated a fourth-grade emergency response and sent teams to the worst-affected Beijing and Hebei on Sunday to direct relief work.

In addition, national authorities also initiated a fourth-grade emergency response in Chongqing on Monday afternoon.

The latest round of storms that started July 21 have affected 890,000 residents of 17 counties in Chongqing, according to local civil affairs bureau.

Local disaster relief and civil affairs authorities have allocated 5 million yuan (about 782,834 U.S. dollars) of emergency relief funding, 710 tents, and 3,275 quilts to the flood-ravaged regions.

As of Monday noon, natural disasters -- strong winds, hail, floods, landslides and mudslides -- had affected about 110 million people in the 31 provincial areas on the Chinese mainland so far this year, leaving 680 dead and 137 missing, according to the ministry.

Editor: znz