At least 146 people had been confirmed dead and 40 are missing as rainstorms and consequent floods, reportedly worst in years in some regions, continues to plague south China.

By 4 p.m. Friday, more than 38.2 million people in 10 southern provinces and Chongqing Municipality had been affected by continuous rainstorms and floods since July 1, the Civil Affairs Ministry said in a notice on its website.

About 124,000 homes were destroyed and more than 1.3 million people had been relocated, it said.

Direct economic losses were estimated at about 29.5 billion yuan (4.32 billion U.S. dollars).

According to the notice, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Finance on Friday jointly allocated 370 million yuan as disaster relief funds to five provinces of Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan, as well as Chongqing Municipality.

The money will be mainly used for the evacuation and resettlement of flood-affected people and the reconstruction of rural houses.

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