LANZHOU, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Eight people have died and two remain missing after torrential rain battered a county in northwest China's Gansu Province, local authorities said Friday.

Central areas of the province have seen heavy rain since Thursday night.

As of 9 a.m. Friday, eight residents from Jingyuan County in the city of Baiyin were killed by floods, and a further two are still missing, according to the Baiyin government.

A search operation for the missing is underway.