Central and south China were hit by heavy rains recently.

"We have set up wall one meter tall at the gates and prepared sand bags just in case," said a manager surnamed Yu with Jinsui Tower in Guangzhou.

The rainfall pushed up vegetable prices in Guangdong and Fujian provinces where farmland was submerged.

The recent rainstorms also damaged the homes of about 19,000 people in Guilin of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

More than 30 houses collapsed, 1,100 hectares of farmland were inundated and many public facilities were damaged. The economic damage was estimated at 13.2 million yuan ($1.9 million).

Three rainstorms pelted Guangzhou, bringing the weekly rainfall up to 440 mm.

The precipitation equaled one-quarter of the city's annual rainfall, said Lin Liangxun, Guangdong's chief weather forecaster.

Guangdong has reported one person missing and more than 35,000 people affected by the heavy rains.

In Hunan province, during the second round of storms that began on May 12, one person was killed in a landslide triggered by the rains and about 3.7 million people were affected.

According to the provincial flood-control and drought relief headquarters, 12,700 residential buildings were destroyed and about 141,000 people were evacuated.

The direct economic losses from the bad weather were estimated at 1.66 billion yuan.