26 dead, 3 missing in southern China rainstorms

BEIJING  â€” China says five days of rainstorms in southern China have left 26 people dead and three missing and led to direct economic losses of 4 billion yuan ($650 million).

The official Xinhua News Agency said late Sunday that 11 of the fatalities from the rainstorms starting Wednesday occurred in Hunan province. The five other provinces affected included Jiangxi and Fujian.

The rainstorms have led to floods and landslides and toppled more than 8,700 houses, damaged another 66,000 and left 42,000 hectares of crops unusable, Xinhua said, citing the Ministry of Civil Affairs.