Members from the Blue Sky Rescue Team, a Chinese civil relief squad, transfer a flood-trapped resident in Wanzhou district, southwest China's Chongqing, July 4, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters launched a level-IV emergency response for flood control Thursday for parts of the country's northern and northeastern regions.

From Thursday to Saturday, heavy rains are expected to lash parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and the provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin, with some areas experiencing thunderstorms, gales, and hail, according to meteorological authorities.

China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with level I being the most severe response. The headquarters have so far launched level-IV emergency responses for floods in seven provincial regions.

"We are patroling the embankment and monitoring the water level 24 hours a day," said Ma Qingyi, director of the water resources bureau of Ulanhot, a city in Xing'an League

A work team has also been sent to offer guidance and support in relief work in Heilongjiang.

The local governments should pay close attention to organizing emergency rescue, strengthen weak links concerning geographical disasters, waterlogging, and small reservoirs, and properly resettle and transfer the residents in advance, according to the headquarters.

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On Thursday night, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region issued a red alert for mountain torrents amid predicted heavy downpours.

Fierce rainstorms are expected to lash central and eastern parts of the region between Thursday night and Friday night, according to the region's meteorological service and water resources authority.

As a result, officials said possibilities of mountain torrents are high in Xing'an League, while floods are predicted in several local rivers.

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

"We are patroling the embankment and monitoring the water level 24 hours a day," said Ma Qingyi, director of the water resources bureau of Ulanhot, a city in Xing'an League.

READ MORE: China vows to ramp up flood control, disaster relief work

Ma said the city is also in close contact with upstream reservoirs to regulate the water storage and tide the city over the flood.

Members of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force transfer flood-trapped residents in Wanzhou district, Southwest China's Chongqing, July 4, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Chongqing evacuation

More than 2,600 residents were evacuated early Friday morning after intense rain inundated streets and houses in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Rainstorms have battered 28 districts and counties of Chongqing since Thursday, with a record-breaking maximum daily rainfall of 227 mm recorded in the Wanzhou District, according to the local meteorological service.

The heavy rain has swollen 44 rivers in Wanzhou by 1-4 meters, said the district's emergency management bureau. Reporters at the site said many low-lying streets have been submerged in flood water as deep as 1.5 meters.

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

Chongqing's meteorological department has warned of secondary disasters, such as landslides and floods in small and medium-sized rivers amid the current rainstorms.