Beijing: At least five people have been killed and seven others injured in rainstorms and mudslides in China`s Guizhou and Hunan provinces.
The provinces were hit by heavy downpours since yesterday.
Three residents of Zhouxi town ship were killed and seven injured .
At least 201 houses in Zhouxi have been damaged, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Local governments have relocated residents from low-lying areas at risk for flash floods and other geological disasters.
Guizhou provincial meteorological station said over 1,500 townships of 77 counties and cities in the province have been battered by this round of rainstorms.
In central China`s Hunan province, rainstorms left two people dead and another two missing as of this afternoon, according to the provincial flood control headquarters.
Rainstorm-triggered floods have also posed safety risks for some minor reservoirs in Hunan.
Severe hailstorms also hit Tongliao, north China`s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, destroying over 10,000 mu (about 666.7 hectares) of farmland.
China`s national observatory yesterday issued a blue alert for rainstorms expected to hit the country`s southern and northeastern regions with occasional thunderstorms and hailstorms.
The national observatory uses a four-tier, colour-coded weather warning system, with red being the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
PTI
