A total of 14,000 houses fell apart in the floods that also destroyed more than 1.34 million ha of crops, plus plenty of water control infrastructure, causing combined economic losses of 5.3 billion yuan (about 663 million U.S. dollars).

In Anhui alone, for instance, the worst hit areas were six cities of Chuzhou, Suzhou, Bengbu, Huaibei, Bozhou and Fuyang which were washed by rainwater from downpour since June 28. And the level of water in many tributaries of Huaihe river has kept rising.

Three people were killed in the flooding in Anhui, with 4.12 million residents being affected, including 44,400 residents who were forced to be displaced from their homes.

The above-mentioned three provinces have been waging flood control and relief operation in an orderly manner.

Important tributaries at the upper reaches of the Huaihe River are discharging the flooded water downstream in a planned way, and no obvious change in the quality of the water in the mainstream of the Huaihe has been ascertained, according to the Huaihe River Water Resources Committee.

These are preliminary official estimates, local officials said Thursday.

The monsoon rains caused by a depression over the Bay of Bengal hit the state Saturday and continued relentlessly for over three days.

The situation has improved, but reports are pouring in from various parts of the state about the damage wrought.

The 31 cases of people being killed came in from various districts, including Bhadrak, Bolangir, Gajapati and Raigada. Some were swept away by the floodwaters while others were killed in a landslide, according to Indo-Asian News Service.

Besides, the rains have affected 1,730 hectares of crop, damaged 2,964 houses and affected 41,619 people, a government official said.