The prolonged drought that has plagued east China's Jiangxi Province for two months is relieved by heavy rains on Monday.

A total of 252 townships had over 15 mm rainfalls, among which 82 townships experienced heavy rains and 4 others were hit by rainstorms, said Xu Bin, deputy director of Jiangxi Provincial Meteorological Observatory.

The rain will keep falling for the next three days, causing a temperature drop of 8 to 10 degrees Celsius, Xu said.

A total of 34 weather rockets were launched for artificial precipitation in 20 counties, enhancing the rainfall over an area of 10.2 thousand square kilometers, according to a statement from the provincial artificial weather modification office.

More than 900,000 people had been suffering from water shortage before the rain, said Sun Xiaoshan, deputy director of the provincial flood control and drought relief office.