Twenty people have died in southwest China in floods and landslides caused by torrential rain, and 10 are still missing, state media reported on Monday.

The rain fell on parts of Yunnan province for four days from August 7, the official Xinhua news agency said, quoting the provincial civil affairs office.

More than 810,000 people were affected by the rain, and direct economic losses were thought to be around 300 million yuan (44 million dollars), Xinhua said, of which 200 million yuan were farming losses.

In one of the most deadly incidents, four people were killed in a landslide in a village in the southeast of Yunnan, and another seven were still missing.

The civil affairs office was unavailable for comment.