BEIJING, Sept. 1, 2008 -- At least five people were killed and three others were missing after four consecutive days of torrential rain in central China's Hubei Province.

The heaviest rain to hit the province this year has so far affected more than 5 million people in 43 counties, damaged 4,841 houses and resulted in a direct economic loss of 1.978 billion yuan (289 million U.S. dollars), the Ministry of Civil Affairs said here on Monday.

The ministry initiated a grade-4 emergency response at 4:30 p.m. and sent a work group to the province to help with relief work.