CHANGSHA, July 7 (Xinhua) -- A total of 44 people have been died or missing after floods hit Ningxiang County in central China's Hunan Province, local flood prevention headquarters said Friday.

Heavy downpours pounded the county since June 22, leading to the area's worst natural disaster in 60 years. A total of 44 people died or remain unaccounted for, the headquarters said.

About 815,000 people, or 56 percent of the county's population, suffered property losses in the floods, it said.

In Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to the south, flood left 20 people dead and 14 missing. Around 20,000 houses collapsed or were damaged.