15 dead, 4 missing due to torrential rain in Chongqing

The latest round of torrential rain since Monday had killed 15 people and left four others missing in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality as of 7 a.m. Wednesday, local authorities said.

The heavy rain, mainly seen in the areas along the Yangtze River, has triggered floods and geological disasters, disrupting the life of more than 130,000 people in 19 districts and counties, according to the municipal bureau of emergency management.

Over 7,500 hectares of crops have been damaged, the bureau said in a statement. The city's emergency response headquarters office has raised the relief response to level III, allocating more than 29,000 items of disaster relief supplies, including tents, blankets and folding beds, to Wanzhou District, the hardest-hit area where record-high rainfall was seen.

The country has ramped up flood control and disaster relief work. On Wednesday, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters sent a team of experts to Wanzhou to lead rescue operations. China earmarked about 44.46 million U.S. dollars on Wednesday from its central natural-disaster relief funds to support flood and other geological disaster relief work in regions including Chongqing and Sichuan Province.