Four days of heavy rains have battered Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, affecting nearly nine million people, Xinhua news agency reported, citing figures released by the civil affairs ministry.

The floods and landslides have caused overall economic losses of more than 2.9 billion yuan (380 million dollars), the ministry said, according to Xinhua.

The report did not give a breakdown of the death toll by province.

Some 48,000 houses have been completely destroyed and nearly 100,000 others damaged, Xinhua quoted an unnamed ministry official as saying.

Nearly 300,000 hectares (741,000 acres) of crops have been affected, with one-sixth of them completely destroyed, the report said.

The ministry has dispatched rescue teams to assist in relief efforts, it added.