China's inland city of Chongqing has been hit by flooding due to heavy rains. Local authorities say 15 people have died and four others are missing.

State-run media outlets say rain has fallen intermittently in Chongqing and surrounding areas since last month.
Heavy rain and strong winds from Monday to Tuesday have caused floods in wide areas.

Authorities have raised their alert level and launched rescue operations. They say nearly 40,000 people have been affected.

President Xi Jinping ordered officials to exert all efforts in dealing with the disaster.

Beijing says it will spend 320 million yuan, or about 44 million dollars, on rescue operations, evacuation of people and repairing damaged houses.

The city experienced a similar disaster last Friday when a landslide caused by heavy rain killed six people.