China starts emergency response for flood-stricken Hunan

BEIJING - China issued a grade-IV emergency response on Monday following rain, storms and flooding across central China's Hunan Province, which have left six dead and one missing.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and China National Commission for Disaster Reduction have sent teams to assist in disaster-hit areas.

Since June 22, Hunan has been battered by rain and floods.

By 8 am Monday, six people had died, another one remained missing, and 11,000 had been evacuated to safer places, according to local government.

The disaster also damaged about 40,000 houses, and caused 3.27 billion yuan ($479.3 million) in direct economic losses.

A grade-IV response, the lowest in China's emergency response system, requires a 24-hour alert, daily damage reports, and the allocation of money and relief materials within 48 hours.

Local disaster response and civil affairs authorities has allocated six million yuan to the disaster relief fund since the heavy rain and floods began.