Bearing the brunt were some of China's poorest regions, including the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province, which has been ravaged by continuous rainfall since June 26.

According to authorities in Mianning county, Liangshan, 14 people had been killed by 11 pm on Tuesday, with eight still missing on Wednesday. Almost 1,800 families were relocated to makeshift shelters.

Economic damage related to agriculture, public facilities, family assets, commerce and mines, among others, reached 738 million yuan, local authorities said.