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.

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.

(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2008)