China issues red alerts for mountain torrents, rainstorms in eastern, southern regions

BEIJING, June 29 -- China's meteorological and water resources authorities Saturday evening issued red alerts, the highest level, for mountain torrents and rainstorms in some eastern and southern regions.

From 8 p.m. Saturday to 8 p.m. Sunday, mountain torrents are very likely to occur in parts of Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, and Guizhou, according to the Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration.

The two departments also issued an orange alert for mountain torrents in the northwestern part of Zhejiang.

Mountain torrents could also be triggered by temporary heavy downpours in other areas, the National Meteorological Center said.

Localities have been advised to strengthen real-time monitoring and flood warnings, prepare for possible evacuations, and take precautionary measures to minimize potential risks.

In a separate update, the National Meteorological Center on Saturday evening renewed a red alert for rainstorms.

Some areas in Guizhou, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Shanghai will expect downpours, with some regions likely to experience heavy rain of up to 260 mm within 24 hours until 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Meteorological Center.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.