Beijing, Jun 21 (IANS): Torrential rains have killed nine people in two places in south China's Guangdong province, local authorities said.
As of 4 p.m. Thursday, heavy rains left four people dead and four others missing in the Meixian district of the city of Meizhou, and another five dead and two others missing in Jiaoling County of Meizhou.
In Meixian, the rains have affected 32,083 people and more than 1,586 hectares of crops, causing direct economic losses of about 1.06 billion yuan ($146.4 million), Xinhua news agency reported.
In Jiaoling, a total of 64,947 people have been affected, with direct economic losses of about 3.65 billion yuan.
Rescue and disaster relief efforts are underway in the two places.