BEIJING -- A senior Chinese official said flooding this year has killed 701 people, left 347 missing and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage, the worst toll across the board in a decade.

Liu Ning, general secretary of the flood prevention agency, told a news conference Wednesday that flooding has occurred across three-quarters of China's provinces and 25 rivers have seen record-high water levels.

He said in addition to the 701 dead and 347 missing, 645,000 houses have been toppled and overall damage has totaled 142.2 billion yuan. All the figures, Liu said, were the highest China had seen since 2000. (AP)