BEIJING, June 6 -- A grade IV emergency response was initiated on Friday morning as rainstorms continued to ravage southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the China National Commission for Disaster Reduction have dispatched an emergency response team to the region.

At least nine people had died as of 8 a.m. Friday after downpours swept Chongqing since Saturday, the local bureau of civil affairs said in a statement.

About 920,000 people were affected and 124,500 have been relocated, according to the statement.

The rainstorms, which have caused the collapse of 7,300 houses and damaged 27,400 hectares of crops, have led to direct economic losses of 500 million yuan (80 million U.S. dollars).

A grade IV response, the lowest in the country's emergency response system, means a 24-hour alert, daily damage reports, and dispatching money and relief materials within 48 hours.