China flood loss put at $7 billion

BEIJING, July 11 (UPI) -- China's economic losses from flooding this year have topped $7 billion, the state flood control and drought relief office said Friday.

The floods ravaged 23 localities with a population of more than 61 million people, killing 305 people with another 73 reported missing, destroying 249,000 homes, and affecting nearly 9 million acres of farmland, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Besides the floods, the country also suffered heavily from the May 12 earthquake which hit the southwest Sichuan province.

Reconstruction cost estimates already exceed $10 billion but the final figure is expected to be far higher, officials have said.

The quake killed about 80,000 people, injured more than 370,000 and destroyed some 6.5 million homes.