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Green terraced fields after heavy rain on June 6 in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China. According to the China Meteorological Administration on Monday, heavy rain will affect parts of eastern and southern China over the next three days. Heavy rainfall has alleviated the drought in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze river. But many parts of Guizhou, Jiangxi and Hunan provinces have suffered flooding since Saturday.

Reuters reports from Beijing:

A drought that has gripped parts of central and southern China has retreated after downpours over the weekend that brought deadly flooding to one area, official media reports said on Tuesday.

Parts of China along the Yangtze River basin and nearby have been enduring their worst drought in 50 years or more, with rainfall 40 to 60 percent less than normal over recent months, damaging crops and cutting power from hydroelectric dams.

Some dry areas enjoyed rains of up to 80 millimetres (3.1 inches) between Friday and Monday, the People's Daily said.

In the southwest province of Guizhou, the easing of drought swung to flooding that killed 9 people and left 13 missing in Wangmo County. Torrential rains there overwhelmed the local river and flooded the county seat and other towns, forcing 6,000 people to move, Xinhua news agency reported.

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