Continuous torrential rains have battered parts of northwest China's Shaanxi Province since Sunday, affecting almost 120,000 people and leaving three workers missing, local authorities said Tuesday.

More than 5,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas, and the downpours have also inundated 5,400 hectares of cropland and damaged almost 9,000 units of housing, a spokesman with the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Civil Affairs said.

In addition, three workers at a a national nature reserve in Hanzhong were swept away by floods, and were yet to be found, the spokesman said.

The department has ordered local civil affairs authorities to guard against natural disasters and ensure the dispatch of relief supplies, he said.

Local meteorological authorities forecast more torrential rains would hit those areas Thursday.