Heavy rain kills 15 in southern China

A bout of heavy rain in south and east China has killed 15 people and left another two missing as of Saturday morning, according to a statement issued by the National Commission for Disaster Reduction on Saturday.

Rain started to lash nine provincial regions in southern and eastern China, including the provinces of Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi, on Wednesday, said the statement.

Hail or rain-triggered floods have affected 4.68 million people and forced the relocation of 62,000 people, toppling 2,500 houses and rendering 21,400 hectares of crops unharvestable, it added.

The disasters caused direct economic losses of 1.7 billion yuan (about 277.16 million U.S. dollars), according to the commission.

Local civil affairs authorities have sent relief supplies to the disaster-hit areas, authorities said.