Houses are submerged in Erdos in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region following a severe rain and hailstorm on Monday. Photo: CFP

Rainstorm-triggered natural disasters have hit nine provincial-level regions since June 29, leaving at least 39 dead and another 13 missing, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Monday.

The ministry had reported 18 people dead and four missing in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, nine dead and four missing in Anhui Province and one dead in Hubei Province as of 2 pm Monday.

Flooding and landslides unleashed by torrential rain had contributed to nine deaths and five cases of missing persons in Sichuan Province, as well as two deaths in neighboring Chongqing Municipality as of 4 pm.

Natural disasters caused by the downpours have affected about 2.44 million people in 34 counties in Sichuan and forced the relocations of some 119,500 people.

Meanwhile, about 876,000 people have been affected and 104,000 evacuated in Chongqing.

In the municipality's hard-hit Tongnan county, many houses were submerged and soldiers were seen using inflatable motorboats to rescue trapped villagers.

As of 3 pm, more than 18,000 people had been evacuated in the county, and local authorities were still working to confirm the number of casualties.

Chongqing has allocated 10 million yuan ($1.63 million) in emergency relief funds, and local authorities said they have dispatched 31,000 rescuers and relief personnel to the disaster-hit areas.

The National Meteorological Center issued a blue alert for rainstorms on Monday, forecasting heavy rain to continue in parts of North and Southwest China over the next three days.

The center also warned of downpours, thunderstorms and hail in Guangdong Province and its southern neighbor Hainan Province, both of which are bracing for the approach of tropical storm Rumbia.