Heavy rains hammer central, southern China

14 dead since Thursday as provinces prepare for more mudslides, flooding

Violent rainstorms have battered a large swath of central and southern China since Thursday, claiming dozens of lives, suspending flights and train rides and causing widespread flooding.

The National Meteorological Center raised its rainstorm alert to yellow on Friday morning and warned that torrential rains are expected to continue in Anhui, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region before Monday.