NANNING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Torrential rain in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has affected the lives of over 280,000 people since Saturday, the local emergency management department said Tuesday.

(Photo: VCG)

Floods and waterlogging have hit 40 counties and districts under the cities of Nanning, Liuzhou, Guilin, Guigang, Baise, Hechi, Laibin and Chongzuo.

A total of 286,329 residents were affected, with one missing and 9,302 residents relocated as of 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The rain also damaged over 15,000 hectares of crops. A total of 467 family houses collapsed and another 749 were damaged to varying degrees.

The regional observatory issued a blue alert for heavy rain at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, forecasting rainstorms in cities including Wuzhou, Yulin, Qinzhou, Fangchenggang, Beihai, Chongzuo and Baise in the following 24 hours.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.