Local residents evacuate from a flooded area in Wuzhou city, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 22, 2005. (Xinhua Photo)

Local resident build a makeshift bank before a store in downtown Wuzhou city, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomou Region June 21, 2005. The city faces flood threat after days of heavy rain. [newsphoto]

Local residents evacuate from a flooded area in Wuzhou city, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 22, 2005. [newsphoto]

  ¡¡BEIJING, June 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Floods that swept 22 provinces and regions across China since late last week claimed 536 lives and caused 137 people missing by 16:00 p.m. Thursday, the Office of State Floods Control and Drought Relief Headquarterssaid.

    The office said that 22 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in the country were hit by floods since last week, causing an economic loss of 20.352 billion yuan (2.45 billion US dollars).

    More than 44.3761 million people in the country were affected by floods, and more than 31 million hectares of crops were damaged.

    The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangdong Province and Fujian Province suffered the severe losses in the floods, according to the office.

    In Guangxi, floods damaged 91 reservoirs and 53.4 kilometers ofdikes.

    In Wuzhou, a city of Guangxi, the water level of the Xijiang River rose to 26.75 meters when flood crest came at 12:00 a.m. Thursday, 9.45 meters above the warning line.

Soldiers help to transfer people besieged in flood in the flood-ravaged area of Qijiang County in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on June 4, 2005. Many parts in south China has been hit by torrential rain recently.(Xinhua Photo)

    Wuzhou and some other cities had decided to postpone the schedule of senior high school entrance examinations.

    Rainstorms in Guangdong caused cave-in of the roadbed of the Longchuan-Huizhou section of the Beijing-Kowloon Railway on Tuesday. Transportation has not been resumed yet and repair work is still underway.

    Continuous torrential rain and ensuing floods in the northern part of Fujian Province forced the Xiamen Railway Station to suspended all its trains after some railway lines via the city were disrupted.

    A task force dispatched by the State Council went to floods-hitareas in Fujian, directing local rescue and relief work.

    Jia Zhibang, head of the group and Vice-Minister of Civil Affairs, warned local officials to keep alert on possible occurrence of mud and rock flow and landslide. Enditem