Over 460,000 affected by heavy rainfall in SW China's Sichuan

CHENGDU, July 4 (Xinhua) -- More than 460,000 people have been affected by heavy downpours this month in southwest China's Sichuan Province, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said Tuesday.

Across the province, over 85,000 local residents have been evacuated to safe places as a precautionary measure. Thanks to the early warnings and timely measures carried out by the local government, no casualties have been reported so far.

To safeguard people's lives in the face of the heavy rainfall, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters has sent early warnings to the public via social media platforms and its website. It has also strengthened its patrol work and monitoring of real-time precipitation, especially in areas at risk from rainstorms and mountain torrents.

Previously, Sichuan issued its first yellow alert for flash floods this year, involving 26 county-level areas. China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system for geological disasters, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

This week, the province is likely to encounter flash floods in mountainous areas, with possible mudslides in some parts, according to the latest weather forecast.