Northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Tuesday raised the emergency response level for natural disaster relief from Level IV to Level I, the highest in the country's four-tier emergency response system, after rain-triggered disasters claimed the lives of at least 20 people in the province.

The provincial disaster prevention, mitigation and relief commission activated the top-level emergency response at 10 a.m., in accordance with the provincial natural disaster relief emergency plan, due to significant losses and the ongoing threat from recent flooding, according to the commission.

At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the provincial meteorological observatory had raised the rainstorm alert level to yellow, as it anticipated heavy rainstorms in the cities of Yan'an, Tongchuan, Baoji, Xianyang and Hanzhong from 9 a.m. Tuesday to 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Since July 15, rain-triggered floods have plagued many parts of Shaanxi. To date, five people have been killed in floods in the city of Baoji, and another 15 were killed after an expressway bridge collapsed into a flooded river in Zhashui County.

China's Ministry of Water Resources on Tuesday upgraded its emergency response to flooding in southwest China's Sichuan Province to Level III.

According to meteorological risk warning analysis, parts of central and northern Sichuan face a high risk of torrential flooding from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The ministry and the China Meteorological Administration have been issuing real-time early warnings for possible torrential floods in northwestern and southwestern China, while urging primary-level governments to organize personnel evacuation in dangerous areas.

Efforts will also be made to prevent the flooding of reservoirs and warping dams, as well as small and medium-sized rivers, the ministry said.

(Cover: Mountain torrents hits Ya'an City, Sichuan Province, southwest China, July 22, 2024. /CFP)