China issues red alerts for mountain torrents, rainstorms

BEIJING -- China's meteorological and water resources authorities Saturday evening issued red alerts, the highest level, for mountain torrents and rainstorms in some eastern and southern regions.

From 8 pm Saturday to 8 pm Sunday, mountain torrents are very likely to occur in parts of Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, and Guizhou, according to the Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration.

The two departments also issued an orange alert for mountain torrents in the northwestern part of Zhejiang.

Mountain torrents could also be triggered by temporary heavy downpours in other areas, the National Meteorological Center said.

Localities have been advised to strengthen real-time monitoring and flood warnings, prepare for possible evacuations, and take precautionary measures to minimize potential risks.

In a separate update, the National Meteorological Center on Saturday evening renewed a red alert for rainstorms.

Some areas in Guizhou, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Shanghai will expect downpours, with some regions likely to experience heavy rain of up to 260 mm within 24 hours until 8 pm Sunday, according to the National Meteorological Center.

The Zijiang River in Hunan, a river that runs through densely populated areas, saw its 3rd flood of 2024 and hit the alert level on Saturday night. The river has flooded three times in five days, posing increasingly severe challenges on flood control along the river.

In response to heavy downpours in Hunan, railway authorities have taken precautionary measures and suspended train services on several routes through Hunan. Meanwhile, some passing trains were delayed.

Guangxi activated a Level-IV emergency response to flooding at 6 pm Saturday as the region expected long-lasting heavy downpours that stand high risks of triggering disasters.

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

The Ministry of Water Resources also said that at 4 am Saturday, the water level at the Hutou hydrometric station in the upper reach of the Wusuli River in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province climbed to 57.99 meters, 0.9 meters higher than the safety guarantee level, the highest level recorded so far, since the first data was collected in 1951.

China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Tuesday activated a Level-IV emergency response to flooding in Heilongjiang province.

Triggered by persistent downpours, certain tributaries of Wusuli River and Songhua River saw floods above the safety guarantee level.