IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Beijing

Flood response plan issued

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters launched a Level-4 emergency response plan on Monday, the lowest of a four-level emergency response mechanism, ahead of predicted torrential rains in the southern part of the country. Rainfall from Monday to Tuesday in the south is expected to raise the waters in the Xijiang River and two of its tributaries - the Liujiang and Guijiang rivers in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region - above their warning levels and also cause flooding in Jiangxi and Hunan provinces, the headquarters said. Heavy rains led to the deaths of nine people in Hunan and Guangxi, and left one missing, local authorities said on Monday.