Heavy rain has caused the cancellation of 18 flights and stranded 1,700 passengers during the last two days in Yichang city's Sanxia Airport in central China's Hubei Province.

Heavy rainfall hit?Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province on May?30,?2012. [Xinhua]

A fierce rainstorm has been battering Yichang since Monday night, airport authorities said on Wednesday.

The weather improved on Wednesday and all the stranded passengers have been transported to their destinations.

The rainstorm has led to the relocation of 441 people and the collapse of 67 houses, as well as affecting 130,000 people in the city, according to a statement issued by the Yichang Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau.

Additionally, about 22,000 hectares of farmland in 24 towns in the city were affected by the rain, rendering 669 hectares barren for this year.

Direct economic losses are estimated at 45.87 million yuan (7.3 million U.S. dollars), the statement said.