China issues red alert for mountain torrents in three provincial-level regions

BEIJING, June 7 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration jointly issued a top-level red alert for mountain torrents on Sunday as rainstorms continue to affect parts of the country.

Authorities warned that parts of southwestern Hunan, northern Guangxi and southeastern Guizhou face an exceptionally high risk of mountain floods from 8:00 p.m. Sunday to 8:00 p.m. Monday.

An orange alert, the second-highest level, was also declared for parts of these three provincial-level regions. Local governments have been ordered to step up real-time monitoring, issue timely warnings, and arrange evacuations when necessary.

From 8:00 p.m. Sunday to 8:00 p.m. Monday, extremely heavy downpours are expected to hit parts of southeastern Guizhou, northern Guangxi and southern coastal Guangdong, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Separately, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the China Meteorological Administration jointly issued an orange alert for geological disasters in parts of northeastern Guangxi and southeastern Guizhou.

All levels of government have been instructed to immediately activate emergency contingency protocols. Local residents have been advised to monitor rolling updates and avoid traveling to high-risk areas.

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