TAIYUAN - Eight people have been confirmed dead and two remain missing days after heavy rain battered a county in North China's Shanxi province, local authorities said Tuesday.

Torrential rains lashed Linxian county on Thursday and Friday, damaging roads and telecommunications facilities, the county's information office said in a statement.

Rescue operations are still under way, with rescuers repairing damaged roads and restoring electricity in some areas.

Early Tuesday morning, Shanxi issued this year's first red alert for rainstorms, as a new round of rain has pelted the province this week.

The provincial meteorological station issued the red rainstorm alert at 4:22 am to warn of more heavy rains that are expected to hit four cities in the southern part of the province from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Chinese meteorological authorities use a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red being the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.