BEIJING -- The rain-generated floods and storms starting in the beginning of July have left 22 dead and forced the evacuation of 50,000 as of Monday in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

As of 2 p.m. Monday, the disasters affected 1.96 million people in 70 county-level regions and 618,500 hectares of farmland, and caused the collapse and damage to a total of 71,300 houses, the ministry said, citing a report submitted by Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Civil Affairs Bureau.

The disasters have caused a total of 4.45 billion yuan ($691 million) in direct economic losses in Inner Mongolia, the ministry said.

As part of the country's emergency response to the floods and windstorms, the National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Monday afternoon dispatched a work team to assess the situation and direct relief work in the region.