China warns of geological disasters as rainstorm triggers another orange alert

Photo taken on July 1, 2016 shows residential houses surrounded by floods triggered by rainstorm in Wujiadian Township of Jinzhai County, east China's Anhui Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - China's weather authorities on Friday warned of possible geological disasters in the south and west of the country as heavy rain in the region showed little signs of abating.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) and the Ministry of Water Resources warned of high risks of mountain torrents in parts of Anhui, Hunan, Guizhou and Tibet from Friday evening to Saturday evening, suggesting residents take necessary precautions.

The NMC on Friday evening renewed its orange alert, the second highest of the four-tier warning system, for storms, forecasting torrential rain in parts of Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou on Friday and Saturday, with precipitation expected to reach up to 180 millimeters in some places.

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

Heavy rain caused a landslide in a village in southwest China's Guizhou Province on Friday morning, killing 11, while 12 remain missing, local officials said.

Heavy rain across the south has resulted in heavy casualties in June, while a powerful tornado and hailstorm in Yancheng City in China's Jiangsu Province on June 23 left around 100 dead.