Beijing  - Rainstorms have killed at least 26 people and damaged hundreds of homes in Mongolia over the past week, Chinese state media reported Monday.

The worst rainstorms for several years destroyed three bridges and damaged at least 1,800 properties in the western province of Gobi-Altai and in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, the official Xinhua news agency said.

At east 26 people died in the two areas, the agency quoted the Mongolian General Authority for Emergency Management as saying via local media.

The Mongolian government had allocated emergency funds and temporary shelters to the worst-hit areas, the agency reported from Ulan Bator.

Meteorologists have forecast more heavy rain this week, and local authorities are taking precautions against possible flooding, it said.

Mongolia's remote Gobi-Altai region is close to Kazakhstan and borders China's far western region of Xinjiang.(dpa)