Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Monday upgraded its flood-control response to Level II, the second-highest rung in the four-tier emergency response system for floods, as downpours are forecast to persist.

Floods beating historical records are expected at the Sanhuangmiao station along the Tuojiang River, while heavy floods are expected to continue in the middle and lower reaches of Fujiang River.

The province's flood control and drought relief headquarters, therefore, decided to raise the emergency response as the situation remains grim.

Heavy rains during the weekend have affected more than 60,000 residents in Sichuan. Farmland, transportation, water conservancy and other infrastructure in various parts of the province have been damaged to varying degrees.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, traffic on 10 sections of highways and 71 sections of other major roads in Sichuan had been disrupted by continuous rain and flash floods, according to the province's transportation department.

In Mianyang city of Sichuan, two heavy-haul freight trains with a total weight of 8,100 tonnes were pulled onto the Fujiang Bridge by locomotives on Monday afternoon to help thwart the impact of floods.

Continuous rain since Saturday night has caused the Mianyang section of Fujiang River in the province exceed warning levels, posing a serious threat to the safety of the bridge.