HONG KONG(National Times)- Torrential rain continued across southern and central China on Tuesday with at least 21 people killed in widespread flooding that also closed schools and businesses, and disrupted transport and power supplies, authorities said.

China’s weather agency said areas of Jiangxi, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan faced a high risk of rain-related disasters, including landslides, flash floods and severe urban flooding and waterlogging.

Authorities said they have allocated 150 million yuan ($22.04 million) for disaster relief and launched emergency responses in several affected areas.

Ten people were confirmed dead after a pickup truck carrying 15 farm workers fell into a flooded river in China’s southwestern region of Guangxi amid heavy rain, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

In separate incidents, heavy rain and flooding killed four people in southwestern Guizhou province, four others in southern Hunan province, and three in a low-lying village in central Hubei province, CCTV said.

The unusually large area of intense rainfall — spanning more than 1,000 km — was due to the convergence of abundant moisture from the Bay of Bengal, the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

China’s National Meteorological Centre said severe weather would gradually move east and south across China over the next two days. From Wednesday, the heaviest rainfall is expected along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.