Residents wait for traffic lights in rain at a crossing in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, June 2, 2015. (Photo: Xinhua/Yan Minhang)
Rainstorms and floods continue to ravage central Hunan Province, forcing authorities to initiate a grade IV emergency response on Thursday.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction have dispatched emergency response teams to the province.
Hunan's local bureau of civil affairs report six people have died across nine cities and 54 counties in the province as of 10 a.m. on Thursday, and three are missing. Downpours have swept the province since Monday.
About 1.6 million people were affected and 104,000 have been relocated.
Rainstorms caused the collapse of or substantial damage to at least 8,600 houses.
Rainfall had exceeded 200 millimeters in seven townships, with the highest reaching 258.1 millimeters.
Blankets and 6 million yuan (967,600 U.S. dollars) in relief money have been sent to disaster-hit regions by Hunan authorities.
A grade IV response, the lowest in the country's emergency response system, means a 24-hour alert, daily damage reports, and dispatching money and relief materials within 48 hours.
