BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Water Resources said on Monday that it has maintained a Level-IV emergency flood response for south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the provinces of Hubei and Hunan, both located in central China.
From Sunday morning to Monday morning, heavy to torrential rains lashed central and southern parts of the country. During the same period, water levels rose above warning levels on eight small and medium-sized rivers in Yunnan in southwest China, Guangxi, south China's Guangdong, and Anhui and Shanghai, both in east China, with the largest excess above warning levels reaching 0.91 meters.
Based on 24-hour rainfall forecasts, the ministry issued early warning notices to eight provincial-level regions, including Hebei and Inner Mongolia, both in north China, Anhui, Jiangxi and Shandong, all in the east, and Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi, urging enhanced safety measures for reservoir operations, flood prevention along small and medium-sized rivers, and defense against flash floods.
China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe. ■
