As floodwaters receded in northern China's Shaanxi Province today, rescuers frantically searched for at least 266 missing people feared swept away by the torrential deluge, officials and press reports said.
"The death toll in Shaanxi Province continues to be 152 dead and 266 missing," an official from China's civil affairs ministry said.
The ministry's flood control office yesterday announced that 205 people have been killed so far in floods that have wracked northern, central and southern China since late last week.
Shaanxi province was the hardest hit with 489 millimeters (19.5 inches) of rain falling in the southern parts of the province between June 8th and June 10th, triggering mud- and landslides that have covered roads and railways.
More than 300 towns and villages were affected in the province and 83,000 homes were damaged, according to officials.
An updated casualty report was not available today afternoon, but local officials indicated that because some areas were cut off from communications, the toll could be much higher than previously thought.
In the province's Ningshan County, some 163 people were still missing today, with 4,300 reported homeless and 11 confirmed dead, an official said.
While in Foping county, an official said 90 per cent of the casualties in Shaanxi Province had come from there. "We were the hardest hit area," he said.
"Waters have been receding since Monday, but roads and communications are still cut and we don't know what the situation in many areas is like," he said, adding that emergency supplies such as food, tents, candles and blankets are badly needed.
Economic damages were expected to exceed 837 million yuan ($100 million), the China Dailyreported.
AFP