Armed police carry out rescue operations and evacuate trapped residents from flood-affected Changtan town in Wanzhou district, Chongqing, July 4, 2023. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING - China's Ministry of Water Resources on Thursday launched a level-four emergency response to flooding, as heavy rains are expected to hit vast stretches of the country in the coming days.

With downpours forecast to hit parts of southwest China, areas between the Yellow River and the Huaihe River, northeast China, Hubei province, Shaanxi province and other regions between Thursday and Sunday, water levels will likely surpass the warning levels in some rivers in the affected areas, according to the ministry.

The ministry has activated a level-four emergency response to flooding in Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Chongqing and Guizhou.

Volunteers disinfect streets in the aftermath of the flood in Wanzhou district, Chongqing, July 5, 2023. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

It also ordered local departments to monitor weather changes, strengthen the forecast of precipitation and water levels in their areas, prepare for flood and mountain torrent prevention, and ensure the safety of people's lives and property.

China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with level one being the strongest response.

ALSO READ: 15 dead, 4 missing due to torrential rains in Chongqing

Members of the Blue Sky Rescue Team, a civilian relief squad in China, assist a resident trapped by the flood in Wanzhou district, Chongqing, July 4, 2023. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The red alert for geological disasters in Chongqing's Wanzhou district was extended until Thursday at 8 pm, according to a notice from the Chongqing Planning and Natural Resources Bureau and the Chongqing Meteorological Bureau issued on Wednesday afternoon.

According to local authorities, six people died in a landslide on Friday night in Wanzhou, and flooding brought by heavy rains on Monday and Tuesday killed 15 and left four missing.

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

ALSO READ: Six people killed in landslide in China's Chongqing

The risk of geological disaster in Wanzhou was rated Level I, and an orange alert was issued for the municipality's Wuxi, Fengjie, Yunyang and Chengkou counties and the Kaizhou district.

The planning and natural resources bureau issued a reminder saying that affected districts and counties should strengthen 24-hour patrols. They should also extend monitoring and take any precautions necessary to avoid geological hazards. Emergency duties should be also strengthened to better conduct rescue and disaster relief work, it said.