Eight people were killed and one left missing by flash floods following downpours that lasted more than ten hours in southwest China's Yunnan Province, Xinhua news agency said.

The rains also inundated large areas of cropland and damaged roads and houses in Yuanjiang county, which is occupied by indigenous ethnic minorities, local government officials were quoted as saying.

In eastern China's Shandong province, six people were killed by flooding that also inundated more than 17,000 houses and forced the evacuation of nearly 70,000 people.

An estimated 2.43 million people in 12 cities have been affected by the Shandong rains, Xinhua said.

They have pounded the region since Thursday, flooding 1,895 kilometres (1,177 miles) of roads and disrupting power supplies and communications, it said.

The China Meteorological Administration said northeastern, central and southern parts of the vast country faced the threat of still more torrential rains over the next three days.

Wide swathes of China have been plagued by near-constant torrential downpours since the summer rainy season began.

Rains brought by tropical storm Pabuk in south China's Guangdong Province over the past few days have affected more than one million people and destroyed thousands of houses, Xinhua said.

According to the latest government figures, 712 people were killed and 163 left missing across the country in July alone.

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