(Photo/Chinanews.com)

BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Flood caused by heavy rain has led to eight deaths and one missing in northwest China's Shannxi Province, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) said Saturday.

A total of 900 houses collapsed and over 17,000 were damaged due to floods in Yulin, Shannxi. Direct economic losses were estimated to be 3.2 billion yuan (475 million U.S. dollars).

A total of 366,000 people were affected, 76,800 of whom were relocated.

Up to 49,000 hectares of crops were affected with 8,600 hectares destroyed. The provincial government has allocated 50 million yuan for disaster relief.

The MCA and China National Commission for Disaster Reduction issued a level III emergency response Saturday and have sent teams to assist disaster-hit areas in Shannxi.

China has a four-level emergency response mechanism to deal with droughts and floods, with the first-level to deal with the most serious cases and the fourth-level to prepare for the least serious cases.