Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Tuesday activated the highest level of flood control response for the first time on record, as rain-induced floods ravaged parts of the province.

The province's flood control and drought relief headquarters raised the response to Level I, the highest in the four-tier emergency response system, at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

The Ya'an section of the Qingyi River was hit by a major flood rarely seen in a hundred years, while water levels in the entire Qingyi River basin, as well as the lower reaches of Dadu River and Minjiang River, are expected to exceed warning levels.

Floods also affected the Leshan Giant Buddha, a UNESCO world heritage site situated outside the city of Leshan. Flood water reached the toes of the Buddha statue for the first time after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

On Monday night, local police and scenic spot staff placed sandbags at the platform under the Buddha's feet, building a dam-like structure to protect the statue.

However, as the water level across local rivers rose rapidly, the flood water had already overflowed the toes of the statue by around 10 a.m. Tuesday.

There is an old saying in Leshan -- the city will be flooded entirely when the Giant Buddha's feet are flooded.

Leshan has activated its highest-level flood control response.

The Buddha statue, carved into a cliff in Leshan Mountain and overlooking three converging rivers, was built over a 90-year period starting in the year 713, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).