BEIJING, May 24 -- The deadly downpour that has killed at least 35 people in south China will start to weaken on Sunday, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) predicted.

The NMC removed the blue alert for rainstorms on Sunday morning, even though heavy rain will continue in some parts of Guangdong and Fujian provinces, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Taiwan.

Rainstorms that have battered large parts of south China since May 4 have broken a 40-year rainfall record, killing at least 35 people with another 13 missing.

The southwestern province of Guizhou reported 11 deaths, the biggest toll so far, whereas in Fujian province, five people were killed by rain-triggered mudslides and four others drowned.

In Jiangxi province, one person was killed by lightening strikes, two by mudslides and five by collapsed buildings. The rest of the deaths were reported in Hunan and Guangdong provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

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