At least 100 people have died from flooding in the three provinces, according to reports from Xinhua news agency, with the number of deaths in the central province of Hunan jumping to 75.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs said on its website earlier Monday that 88 people have died from flooding and another 73 are missing from between late May and June 3 in the three provinces, but an updated total figure is not available.

Xinhua news agency reported over the weekend that up to 200 people had died and 73 were missing in the flooding, but officials at the ministry said Monday the number of fatalities was accumulated since the beginning of the year.

"We have demanded that strong and effective rescue operations be organized in the areas hit by disaster," Vice Premier Hui Liangyu was quoted by the ministry as saying.

"We must safely and appropriately evacuate those people in disaster areas."

Rains continued to fall throughout the region on Monday.

Disease is a major threat in the worst-hit areas, the China Daily reported, with at least three people being struck down by typhoid in Hunan's Xinshao County.

Local governments have stockpiled typhoid and diarrhea inoculations which are to be given free of charge to flood victims.

Up until June 3, economic losses in the three provinces were estimated at 2.47 billion yuan (298 million dollars), with 69,000 homes collapsing and 198,000 homes damaged, the ministry said.

Some 215,000 people have been evacuated, it added.

The hardest hit area was Hunan where over 4.7 million people were affected, with 203,000 people evacuated and economic losses estimated at 2.29 billion yuan, the ministry said.

Hundreds of government officials and soldiers were working in the disaster-hit areas to rescue survivors and find the missing, and to disinfect areas to prevent disease outbreaks.

They were also working to mend damaged roads, repair power and telecommunications infrastructure, and provide food, water, clothes and temporary shelter for the displaced.

Television images showed people wading through waist-high flood water.

The central government has earmarked 18 million yuan in emergency relief funds for Hunan, while the provincial governments of the three provinces have allocated some 15 million yuan.

The government has also dispatched rice, clean water and other emergency materials.

Thousands of people perish every year from floods, landslides and mud flows in China, with millions left homeless, and officials have warned this year's floods could be worse than usual.

The China Meteorological Administration warned last month of an "apocalyptic" summer of severe drought and floods.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.