The death toll in Guangdong Province from floods that have hit southern China has risen to 23 with two missing.

Flooding has affected 2.33 million people and displaced 171,800 by Thursday afternoon, according to the Guangdong department of civil affairs.

The department said 281 people have been injured.

More than 20,000 houses were toppled down and crops on 131,700 hectares were affected. The economic loss in agriculture stood at 551 million yuan while the total economic loss at 1.684 billion yuan.
 
The provincial government has dispatched four task forces to flood-hit areas to help disaster relief. A work team of the Ministry of Civil Affairs has also arrived in Guangdong.

The civil affairs authority in neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said Wednesday at least 15 people have been killed and one is missing since June 6.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs reported on Tuesday afternoon that 76 people have been killed by the storms in south China, but it has not provided an update since then.

(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2007)