Intense seasonal downpours across China have caused some of the country's worst flooding in years.

At least 42 people have died and 74 are missing, according to official figures from state news agency Xinhua.

The agency says emergency and rescue teams are struggling to help provide assistance to those in need of help.

The mountain torrent crashes into wooden houses in Hunan Province

Relief workers have been sent to central China's Henan province where fifteen people are reported to have died and eight more are missing, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Authorities are trying to rebuild a section of a dyke along a branch of the Yangtze river in Hubei province - one of the worst hit areas where flash floods have led to evacuation of thousands of people.


But they are being hampered by the strength of the water which has broken through the dyke in three places and is threatening the city.

Image: The flooding is already estimated to have cost millions of pounds

Officials say rescue firefighters have been unable to get close to the breaches because of the roaring flood water and undercurrents.

At one point, the water stretched over 200m (656ft) as it poured through the breaches, tossing vehicles in the air as it made contact.

Image: A rescuer carries a man across flooded ground

Economic costs of the flooding are reported to have already risen to hundreds of millions of pounds.

President Xi Jinping says the country needs to be prepared for more hardship to come and warned officials that, if found negligent in their duties, they will be severely punished.