TAIYUAN - Five people are dead and another three remain missing following a rainstorm that battered a county in north China's Shanxi province from Thursday to Friday, local authorities said.

Thirteen townships in Linxian county in the city of Luliang have been affected by the heavy rains as of Thursday. Five of the townships were seriously affected, with maximum precipitation reaching 197 mm, according to the county's publicity office.

The nearby Hukou Waterfall scenic areas has been closed to visitors in anticipation of the largest flood peak to hit the Yellow River since 1989, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said.

Rainstorms also pelted neighboring Hebei province on Thursday, leaving one person dead and another three missing in the city of Wu'an, according to the city's civil affairs department.