XINING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen people were found dead and 17 others remained missing after sudden mud-rock flows triggered by torrential rain hit villages in northwest China's Qinghai Province early Thursday, local authorities said at a press conference Thursday evening.

Twenty people who were previously reported as missing have been rescued. Some 4,500 firefighters, policemen, servicemen, emergency response personnel and local residents are still looking for the missing people, Han Xianghui, vice head of the provincial emergency management department, told the press conference.

The heavy rainfall, starting at 10:25 p.m. Wednesday, lashed Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County in the provincial capital Xining. By midnight Thursday, the downpours triggered flash floods and mudslides and caused rivers to change courses.

A total of 6,245 residents in six villages have been affected, as at least two buildings were washed away and 14 buildings were seriously damaged.

Ma Mingxu, head of the county government, said temporary shelters had been established at two schools to accommodate more than 1,200 people.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Emergency Management have jointly earmarked 50 million yuan (about 7.37 million U.S. dollars) of natural disaster relief funds, as well as another 50 million yuan from the provincial department of finance.

The funds will be used for emergency rescue and disaster relief efforts, focusing on searching, rescuing and relocating the disaster-stricken people, secondary disaster detection, the repair of damaged houses, and other aspects.