Rainstorms have left six people dead and affected 584,000 in China's Hubei Province.
Rain began to hit the central province on Sunday. The worst-hit Xiangfan City reported precipitation of 271 mm over 12 hours on Tuesday.
![](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20080723/000cf1bdd03f09f0c71b04.jpg)
Three people were swept away by rainstorm-triggered floods, two were killed by lightning strikes and one died in a house collapse, according to the provincial flood control authorities.
About 12,000 people had been evacuated.
Local meteorologists said the rain would continue on Wednesday.
![](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20080723/000cf1bdd03f09f0c72b05.jpg)
![](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20080723/00114320ca5509f0ca9d05.jpg)
(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2008)