Residents in most of China's southern and eastern parts have been warned on the possibility of strong downpours in the next 24 hours, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said early Wednesday.

The country's meteorological authorities issued the blue alert for heavy rain since late Wednesday and urged residents in affected areas to take precautionary measures against floods or landslides.

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The blue alert covers the cities of Tianjin and Beijing and the provinces of Yunnan, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Hebei. Those areas will see torrential rain with precipitation of up to 130 millimeters, the NMC said.

The NMC uses a four-tier color-coded rainstorm warning system. Red is raised for the most severe of downpour, followed by orange, yellow, and blue as the least severe.

"Hail and strong winds are possible. Residents should be ready for landslides in some mountain areas and flooding in cities," the NMC said on its website.

Heavy rains have been closely monitored in China due to their adverse effects on lives and properties. On 18 June, 26 people died and three were missing when rainstorms battered the country's southern region.

The rainstorm, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, adversely affected the lives of 4.9 million people in Yunnan, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, and Fujian.

On 27 June, five people died while harvesting ginger when heavy rain triggered a rotten patch of the root to emit poisonous monoxide. The incident took place in east China's Anhui Province.

The NMC earlier warned that heavy rain will continue for the next few days in South, Southwest and East China, with rainfall reaching up to 120 millimeters in some areas.

TagsChina Rain, China Heavy Rain, China Rainstorm