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So far this year’s Chinese monsoon floods are the second-costliest

Chinas torrential monsoon rainfall have led to the worst flooding China has experienced in modern history. It is now the second-costliest flooding on record in China and the fifth-most destructive weather-related disaster for non-U.S.A countries.

At least 93 people have died just since Monday, which brings the year’s death toll thus far to 576, according to the Chinese government. Beijing has been slammed with monsoon rainfall since earlier this week, which has flooded streets. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.

More than 145,000 homes have been destroyed in the summer floods, and an incredible 21,000 square miles of farmland have been inundated so far.

The monsoon hasn’t been this bad in China since 1998, when the country’s worst weather disaster on record killed more than 4,000 people and tallied $44 billion in damage.

However, this is not the end of the season the strong El Nino this year has contributed to the torrential rain but the weakening of the El Nino is expected to have more devastating rains.

Top Image for illustration purposes only and by Biswarup Ganguly