GUANGZHOU -- A persistent rainstorm that has lashed down on south China's Guangdong Province for days has left four people dead and affected lives of nearly half a million residents, local flood control authorities said Thursday.

The rain started on Sunday and has wreaked havoc in 184 counties or townships in eight cities of Guangdong, cutting off roads, damaging bridges and toppling residential homes, according to the provincial flood prevention center.

Over 300,000 mu (20,000 hectares) of farmland has been flooded, the center said.

Water levels in some rivers have risen to an alarming point, and rain-triggered floods have forced 30 enterprises in Jiaoling County to suspend production.

Meteorological experts warn that two rounds of fresh rainstorms are expected over the next 10 days, making flood control in the province even more problematic.