Rainstorms and floods in China have killed 355 people since June 1, according to the National Disaster Reduction Committee on Saturday.

Rainstorm-triggered mudslide damaged the highway in Gongshan area, Yunnan Province, on July 16. Rainstorms and floods in China have killed 355 people since June 1.

A total of 1,439 counties, 263 cities or prefectures and some areas administered by the far western Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have been hit by floods, landslides and hail since last month, said a statement of the committee.

These disasters have affected nearly 68 million people and forced the relocation of more than 2.38 million people. A total of 112 people were still missing, it said.

The disasters resulted in 63.26 billion yuan (9.78 billion U.S. dollars) of direct economic losses, it said.

Heavy rain has battered the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the southwestern part of China over the last couple of months, with the severest damage in eastern Zhejiang, central Hubei and Hunan and southwestern Sichuan and Guizhou provinces, it said.