NANCHANG, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of lightning strikes in east China's Jiangxi and Zhejiang Provinces has risen to 31 as local meteorological authorities announced eight more deaths on Tuesday.

The meteorological authorities in Jiangxi said 26 people, up from 18 people, had been killed by lightning strikes since Saturday night, of which 12 rural residents were hit while working in the fields outside the city of Shangrao.

Lightning strikes killed five people on Monday when they were building a tomb in Zhejiang.

Another four people were killed when their houses collapsed as a result of relentless rainstorms in Jiangxi.

Rain began to lash northern and central areas of Jiangxi on Saturday night. At least 12 counties received more than 50 millimeters of rainfall and 38 counties registered more than 25 millimeters of rainfall on Monday.

In the worst-hit area of Shangrao, 516,700 people were affected and 5,000 have been relocated. More than 16,000 hectares of crops were affected and 342 houses collapsed, incurring economic losses of 70 million yuan (about 9.1 million U.S. dollars).

Local meteorological stations have warned that lightning storms and downpours will not subside until Wednesday.

An average of 50 people die each year in Jiangxi from lightning strikes.

Officials with the Jiangxi meteorological authorities said that most victims of the lightning strikes were farmers who were not fully aware of the danger of lightning.

The lack of shelter in the countryside was also to blame for the deaths, said the officials.