Half a million affected as China braces for more downpours

Bikers ride in heavy rain in Shantou, south China's Guangdong province, May 11, 2014. A heavy rainstorm hit the city Sunday. (Xinhua/Yao Jun)

More than half a million people have been affected by continuous torrential rains in southern and eastern China as those regions are bracing for more downpours in the coming week.

Heavy rains and floods have battered Guangdong, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces since Thursday, destroying 1,400 houses, forcing the evacuation of more than 50,000 residents and inundating 15,000 hectares of cropland, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said Sunday.

In Hunan, a resident was killed in a rain-triggered landslide.

A fresh round of strong rainfall will strike southern and eastern China starting Monday, which will further raise the water levels of rivers, lakes and reservoirs, said Chen Lei, deputy head of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Chen, also minister of water resources, required that meteorological authorities release timely warnings and promised subsidies for flood relief efforts.

Eight working teams have been dispatched to those regions to oversee relief work, he said.