Chinese news agency Xinhua said rainstorms have "brought chaos" to Jilin province in particular, where at least 20 people have died. Xinhua also claimed 105 people are still missing in the country’s northeast, on top of considerable property and crop damage to 56 counties.

The Jilin government has sent 824 tonnes of grain to the disaster areas, provincial officials told Xinhua.

The floods have also hit eastern Russia, with the Amur River - marking the border between China and Russia - reportedly rising to its highest levels since records began in 1896.

ph/msh (AFP)