Four more people in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were confirmed dead on Wednesday, bringing the death toll from the natural disasters triggered by the tropical storm Bilis across China to 208.

The death toll in Guangxi rose to 29 on Wednesday, while six more people remained missing, the regional flood control and drought relief headquarters said.

An upward of 7.12 million people were affected by the rainstorms, flooding or rock-and-mud flows in the region, and the direct economic losses stood at 2.2 billion yuan (about US$2.75 million).

Natural disasters caused by the tropical storm toppled 22,790 houses across Guangxi, and 491,400 residents were displaced, said the sources.

The local government has provided more than 5 million yuan (US$625,000) for disaster relief efforts and has dispatched 10 working groups to flood-ravaged areas to give guidance in the relief operation.

Tropical storm Bilis landed in China last Friday and triggered heavy rainfall and serious floods in Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi. More than 1.7 million residents had been evacuated over the past weekend, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2006)