Southwest China's Sichuan Province issued a yellow thunderstorm alert as well as a torrential flood yellow alert on Monday morning, the first time for such warnings to be issued since the beginning of this year’s flood season began two months ago. The warnings triggered a level-IV emergency response across the province.

Last week's heavy downpour returned during the weekend. According to the provincial flood and drought authorities on Monday, some 24,000 people have been affected by the rain as of Sunday afternoon and over 2,000 have been evacuated.

In the province's Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, rescuers are looking for five railway workers and one civilian who went missing in a flood.

Sichuan's Bazhong city, bordering northwestern China's Shaanxi Province, has seen heavy downpour since early Tuesday morning, and an amber rain storm alert has been issued. 

As of noon on Tuesday, no casualties have been reported. Local authorities told CGTN that the rain increased the risk of secondary disasters such as floods as well as swollen rivers.

Forecasts show that the rain will abate on Tuesday. In the provincial capital of Chengdu city, the rain ceased late Monday night, yet scattered thunderstorms are expected throughout the week.