Response level raised for Yangtze flooding

As of 2 pm Thursday, more than 1.7 million people in 27 provincial regions had been transferred due to the floods, according to the ministry. Moreover, at least 250,000 houses were destroyed and about 2.6 million hectares of crops were affected.

It estimated that the floods this summer have resulted into a total economic loss of more than 61.8 billion yuan ($8.8 billion).