At least 9 killed in southwest China after truck falls into river in heavy rain

At least nine people died after a pickup truck carrying 15 passengers fell into a flooded river in China's southwestern region of Guangxi amid heavy rain, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday.

The passengers were returning from planting sweet potatoes on Saturday and the truck fell into the river while crossing a bridge whose deck was submerged by rising water levels, CCTV previously reported.

More downpours are expected after heavy rain drenched central and eastern China on the weekend, lashing provinces such as Jiangxi and Hunan, weather authorities said.

In separate incidents, two magnitude 5.2 earthquakes hit Guangxi's Liuzhou city on Monday. The quake in the early morning killed two people and forced more than 7,000 to evacuate.

Authorities said that they had allocated 15,000 items of relief supplies for Guangxi's earthquake and flood relief.

The rains would gradually move eastward and southward across China over the next three days, the National Meteorological Centre said.

It warned of the worsening risk of mountain torrents, flooding in small and medium-sized rivers and urban waterlogging, among other threats.

The city of Jingzhou in the central province of Hubei declared measures to suspend work and business activities as part of its emergency response to flooding.

Daily rainfall in Yichang, also in Hubei, broke a 36-year record over the weekend, the Hubei Daily said.

Authorities shut tourist sites and ordered schools to suspend outdoor classes.