BEIJING, July 7 (Reuters) - Floods, landslides and other disasters triggered by torrential rain ravaged six Chinese provinces, killing 88 people and leaving 23 missing in the past week, the government said on Saturday. The disaster has affected 14.2 million residents, completely destroyed 91,800 hectares (226,800 acres) of crops, while about 350,000 people have been evacuated and 32,300 houses damaged or destroyed, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said. The worst-hit area was the southwestern province of Sichuan where 28 people were killed and 12 are missing because of rainstorms since Monday, the ministry said on its Web site (www.mca.gov.cn). "Damage to crops, roads and telecommunication facilities has been serious," the statement said. State television showed pictures of badly flooded streets in several cities in Sichuan. At least 30 people were killed by heavy rains in the central province of Hubei since June 27, the ministry said. The latest rainfall in Sichuan, along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, has prompted the massive Three Gorges Dam to open its floodgates, the official Xinhua news agency said. Rainstorms had battered Sichuan and Hubei in June, killing dozens of people. Downpours also hit the northwestern province of Shaanxi this week, killing three and leaving three missing, the ministry said. The rain-swollen Huai river has flooded parts of the central province of Henan and the eastern provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu over the past several days, threatening large, densely populated areas, the ministry said. No casualties have been reported in the region, but Anhui has been diverting floodwater in the Huai river to the Yangtze, Xinhua said. Natural disasters, particularly rainstorms, regularly hit southern and central China. In June, 309 people died in natural disasters. Authorities have warned that two to three typhoons or tropical storms could hit in July and were expected to bring more damage to the country's southeast coast.
