China issues highest alert for mountain torrents

BEIJING -- Chinese authorities on Sunday issued this year's first red alert for possible mountain torrents in parts of the country.

From 8 pm Sunday to 8 pm Monday, northeastern parts of East China's Jiangxi province will be highly prone to mountain torrent disasters, according to the alert jointly issued by the Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration.

An orange alert was issued for East China's Zhejiang province as the region's western areas are also likely to see mountain floods.

Local authorities were advised to strengthen real-time monitoring and flood warnings and brace for evacuation.

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