The meteorological station in central China's Henan Province on Tuesday issued a red alert, the most severe warning for heavy rain, after cities including the provincial capital Zhengzhou were hit by downpours.

One person was reported dead and two missing in the city of Gongyi as one of its counties registered a maximum precipitation of 609.1 mm.

The national flood control and drought relief headquarters has raised the emergency response for meteorological disasters to level Ⅲ and dispatched a working team to coordinate flood relief efforts. 

More than 144,660 residents have been affected by torrential rains in Henan since July 16, and 10,152 have been relocated to safe places, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said Tuesday.

A total of 16 large and medium-sized reservoirs have seen water levels rise above the alert level after torrential rains battered most parts of the province on Monday and Tuesday.

Longmen Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Luoyang City, and the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng City, have been temporarily shut.

Train services were suspended and many highways were closed and flights delayed or canceled in Henan.

Heavy rains are expected to lash the central, western and northern areas of the province in the next 24 hours, according to forecasts. 

(With input from Xinhua)