CHANGSHA - Torrential downpours in Central China's Hunan province have left three people dead and one missing, affecting 669,000 people since Thursday, local authorities confirmed on Saturday.

Heavy rain began to affect Hunan on Thursday and continued into Saturday morning, with over 7,390 residents forced to evacuate the worst-hit areas including the cities of Zhangjiajie and Changde, an official at the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said.

The rainstorm has triggered landslides in Cili county in Zhangjiajie, killing three local residents and forcing the temporary closure of two provincial highways, according to the official.

The province's 103 reservoirs have seen the water level brimming over danger marks and the water level of Shimen station on Lishui river recorded a rise of 4.78 meters in one day.