Beijing: Summer floods in China have left more than 200 people dead or missing and caused USD 25 billion in direct damage, an emergency management official said Thursday.

The floods struck major river systems across the central and southern parts of the country. Major cities have been largely spared by the flooding but the impact compounds losses to the economy from the coronavirus outbreak that began in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

Vice Minister of Emergency Management Zhou Xuewen told reporters 219 people were listed as dead or missing and 54,000 homes had been destroyed.

Economic losses of 178.9 billion yuan (USD 25.7 billion) were 15.9 per cent higher than the average from flood damage over the past five years.

China has the world's second largest economy, but growth has slowed amid rising costs and market saturation at home. While it has largely contained the spread of COVID-19, strong concerns remain over employment and the fate of its export markets amid the continuing trade war with the United States.

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Gurugram (PTI): A petrol pump worker died after an SUV rammed into his motorcycle in the Sushant Lok area here, police said on Thursday.

The accused driver fled the scene, leaving the vehicle after the accident. An FIR has been registered at the Sushant Lok police station, they said.

According to police, the accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when Mukesh was travelling from Sector 44 to Sushant Lok on Vyapar Kendra Road for some work.

Near Vyapar Kendra, a white Thar coming from the wrong side at high speed hit his motorcycle head-on, leaving him critically injured, they said.

The driver fled the scene, leaving the vehicle behind, police added.

Eyewitnesses claimed the vehicle had no number plates either at the front or rear.

Locals took Mukesh to a private hospital, where he died during treatment, police said. He was a resident of Rohta Patti in Palwal and worked at a petrol pump in Sector 44.

An FIR was registered against the unidentified driver, based on a complaint lodged by his brother Ashok. The body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem on Thursday, police said.

“The Thar vehicle has been seized from the spot. CCTV footage from the area is being examined, and the driver will be arrested soon,” a Gurugram police spokesperson said.