GUIYANG, June 6 (Xinhuanet) -- Three villagers were swept away Saturday in floods caused by heavy rainfall during the 24-hour period by 8 a.m. on Saturday in the southwestern parts of Guizhou Province, southwest China.

    They or their bodies have not been found so far, according to government officials of the Miao-Dong Autonomous Prefecture of Qiandongnan, where the majority population is the Miao and Dong ethnic groups.

    The heavy rainfall hit 12 counties in the prefecture and led torising waters in major local rivers.

    Incomplete statistics show that 9,350 villagers were affected in six towns in the prefecture's Luodian and Guiding counties that were hit by floods, and 148 houses of farmers were damaged and 440 hectares of farmland were affected, according to the prefecture's flood control department.

    Detailed information on economic losses was yet to be collected,department officials said. Enditem