Zhou Yi, a resident of Shuangliu county in Sichuan province, turns on her bathroom faucet regularly to see whether water is available.

"The water supply has been unpredictable for six consecutive days now because of the rainstorms. Life is very inconvenient in the summer," Zhou said on Wednesday.

Four rainstorms have lashed Sichuan since June 18. Direct economic losses from floods have reached nearly 28 billion yuan ($4.6 billion).