HEFEI, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Heavy downpours since Wednesday and ensuing floods have affected 160,000 people in east China's Anhui Province, local authorities said Thursday.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, heavy rain and floods had damaged 6,240 hectares of crops and more than 300 houses, according to the provincial civil affairs bureau.

It is estimated that the floods have caused economic losses of more than 80 million yuan (around 12 million U.S. dollars).

The bureau has sent a working group to the worst-hit Qianshan County to coordinate flood relief affairs.