Heavy rain kills 9 in central, south China

Heavy rain in China's Hunan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has claimed the lives of nine people and left one missing, local authorities said Monday.

Continuous rainfall in central China's Hunan since last Friday had left three dead and one missing as of 4pm Monday, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

About 1,000 houses had collapsed, over 48,800 people were evacuated, and 27,290 hectares of crops were damaged.

Some 20 tourist areas have been temporarily closed in the province due to safety concerns.

In south China's Guangxi, six people have died after torrential rain over the past week. Over 2,100 hectares of crops and 368 houses were damaged, leading to direct economic losses of 82.7 million yuan (US$12.4 million).

Rainstorms also battered central China's Hubei Province and southwest China's Yunnan Province.