Areas of China already ravaged by floods have seen more rains in the past few days, causing both loss of life and material damage, state media said Sunday.

In the northern Shaanxi province and the southwestern municipality of Chongqing, the downpour has added to the misery, the China News Service reported.

China's anti-flood agency and state media estimate between 66 and 100 million people have been affected by torrential floods so far, with 539 killed.

Observers believe the death toll is likely to be higher once the bodies of those registered as missing are found when floodwaters recede.

In the southern part of Shaanxi province, new emergencies were reported as some localities saw daily precipitation reach 118 millimeters (4.6 inches), the agency said.

In Chongqing municipality, one person was missing after as much as 190 millimeters (7.5 inches) of rain fell on certain localities in a single day, the China News Service said.

In several nearby districts, houses and fields were flooded, while mountain torrents made life unsafe for the residents, it said.

This followed reports that two people died and another 2,000 were stranded by floodwater in or near Chongqing.

Even though this year's floods have attracted of Premier Zhu Rongji, however, officials suggest the loss of life and damage will fall short of that sustained in 1998.

An official at the anti-flood agency, quoted by the China Daily on Saturday, played down the damage, saying it was not expected to exceed the average of previous years.

"Indications are that devastating floods like the ones that ravaged areas along the Yangtze River and the Songhua River (in northeast China) in 1998 will not happen this summer," the unnamed official said.

More than 4,000 people were killed in floods that summer and caused more than 260 billion yuan (US$31.3 billion) in damages.

(China Daily June 23, 2002)