BEIJING -- Some 20.27 million residents have been affected by heavy floods in 24 provincial-level regions across China since the start of July, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management Thursday.

Floods in these areas, including the provinces of Jiangxi, Anhui and Hubei, have left 23 people dead or missing, and forced the emergency relocation of around 1.76 million people.

About 89,000 houses were damaged, and direct economic losses amounted to 49.18 billion yuan (about $7 billion).

The number of people dead or missing due to the floods is 53.1 percent lower than during the same period of last year, while direct economic losses rose by 11.2 percent, according to the MEM.

Since June, continuous downpours have lashed large parts of southern China, and the water in many rivers in the affected regions has exceeded warning levels.