Rainstorms battering south China have left 27 people dead and two missing in six provincial-level regions, according to latest official figures.

The National Commission for Disaster Reduction said in a statement that 3.4 million people in the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan and Guizhou as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Chongqing Municipality had been affected by heavy rainfall by 2 p.m. on Friday, with 239,000 people relocated and 116,000 in urgent need of basic living necessities.

The downpours have toppled more than 9,700 houses, damaged another 55,000 homes and left 19,400 hectares of crops unharvestable, leading to direct economic losses of 3.65 billion yuan.

Among the fatalities, ten occurred in Guizhou and nine in Chongqing. Sichuan and Guangxi each reported three, with one death respectively in Fujian and Guangdong.

The latest round of heavy rainfall hit south and southwest China on June 1, bringing hail, floods and landslides.