Beijing  - Severe rainstorms caused flash floods and landslides that killed at least 20 people and left 10 missing in south-western China's Yunnan province over the last few days, state media said on Monday.

The storms from Thursday to Sunday affected some 820,000 people in Yunnan and forced the evacuation of 2,400, the Xinhua news agency quoted local officials as saying.

About 470 homes collapsed and thousands of others were damaged, with officials estimating direct economic losses at 300 million yuan (43.5 million dollars), mostly from damaged crops, the agency said.

In one of the worst-hit areas, Wenshan prefecture, a landslide on Saturday left four people dead, seven missing and five injured.

About 120 rescue workers were searching for the missing people in Wenshan, the report said. (dpa)