Floods are an annual occurrence in many cities across China, especially in the south during the summer.
Dubbed the "strongest and rarest" in terms of severity, continuous downpours, rain-triggered floods and landslides battering 20 provinces and regions across the country this year have caused direct economic loss of 35.3 billion yuan ($5.6 billion) and have left at least 108 people dead, claimed Economic Information Daily.
A total of 20.79 million people have been affected and more than one million forced to evacuate. The floodwater has also caused damage to about 1.7 million hectares of crops and 44,000 houses.
The prices of daily commodities, including vegetables and poultry, are expected to increase in the summer due to the damage caused to the farmlands and the rise in transportation cost.
The meteorological and agricultural experts said that El Nino phenomenon, a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific, was the cause of the severe weather.
They predicted that the phenomenon, which might last until autumn, is going to make "the floods in southern China and drought in the north" much worse than the previous year.
Experts suggested the construction of drainage systems, adding that it is an effective way to combat flood and drought in the future.
