This picture taken on May 25, 2014 shows residents wading through flood waters in Liling, central China's Hunan province after heavy storms hit the city.
At least 37 people have died and six others remain missing after heavy rains, the type that occur once every 100 years, lashed several provinces in southern China.
The incessant downpour have led to swollen rivers and floods in mountainous areas. A large number of houses have collapsed and farms submerged, the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction said today.
In Guangdong Province, the death toll from the deadly flood rose to 17 while three others were listed missing. The rainstorms also hit Hunan, Guizhou, Jiangxi and five other southern provinces.
Hunan witnessed seven deaths and three missing, while four died in Guizhou, an official statement said. In Guizhou, three people died while the rest of the casualties were reported from Jiangxi and other affected southern provinces.
About 5.51 million people have been affected, 447,000 displaced and 25,000 houses collapsed due to the torrential rains, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
More than 24,000 people have been evacuated to safer places in the Shaodong County in Hunan.
About 264, 800 hectares of crops have been destroyed in the floods and other related disasters, which have caused a direct economic loss of 7.35 billion yuan (USD 1.18 billion).
Rainy weather will continue in south China, but precipitation and coverage will notably shrink, the National Meteorological Centre has said.