Torrential rains have cut all contacts with more than 20,000 people in five towns in the area of southwest China's Sichuan Province still recovering from the May 12 earthquake.

A Jiangyou municipal government official said on Thursday the government was concerned about the safety of the residents roads and telephone lines were cut.

He said crops were damaged and walls collapsed in the rainstorms.

At least eight people had been killed and 38 were missing as of Wednesday afternoon in the heavy rains and ensuing disasters, including flash floods, cave-ins and landslides, in the province.

(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2008)