Rainstorms wreak havoc in China

BEIJING - Nearly a million people have been affected by heavy rain pelting three Chinese provinces, causing houses to collapse, decimating crops and blocking highways.

In central China's Hunan Province, more than 9,000 people have been relocated since a rainstorm started on Wednesday, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

The heavy rain, surpassing 250 mm in precipitation in certain places, has affected 361,000 residents and damaged 19,800 hectares of farmland, the headquarters said.

Four people died and another five are missing after downpours hit Liancheng County in eastern Fujian Province early on Wednesday morning, inundating streets and cutting off power supply.

Longyan City, which administers Liancheng, reported 3,200 collapsed houses. More than 323,000 people were affected, with 136,200 of them evacuated.

Torrential rain has also hit the southern province of Guangdong, affecting 233,200 people and forcing the evacuation of over 6,200.

Direct economic losses in the province have reached 122 million yuan (19.6 mln U.S. dollars), the province's emergency response office said.