BEIJING, May 21 -- The National Commission for Disaster Reduction launched an emergency response on Thursday to aid east China's flooded Jiangxi Province.

Rainstorms have left eight people dead and three missing in Jiangxi since beginning to batter the province on Monday, according to the local government.

As of Thursday morning, heavy rain and flooding have affected a total of 969,000 people and damaged about 8,836 houses in Jiangxi.

Local governments have relocated about 127,000 residents to safer areas.

The provincial civil affairs department has allocated 16 million yuan (2.6 million U.S. dollars) to fund disaster relief, in addition to sending tents, blankets and food.

The National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the Ministry of Civil Affairs have sent work teams to help the areas.