Six people were killed and two more missing after rainstorms caused 1,500 houses to collapse in central China's Hunan Province Tuesday, local authorities said.

The dead included a couple from Jishou City, one resident from Luxi County, two people from Fenghuang County, and a senior citizen over 70-years old in Mayang County, said a spokesman from the Hunan Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Two other residents were still buried in collapsed houses in Luxi County and rescue operations were underway.

Some 124,000 people have been evacuated.

Heavy rainstorms have pounded the province since 8 a.m. Monday, triggering floods, landslides and infrastructure damage and affecting more than one million people, the provincial Civil Affairs Department said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2010)