HONG KONG — Heavy rains in China's southern Guangdong and Guangxi provinces killed five people and left several missing over the weekend as authorities issued alerts for severe rain, mountain flooding and geological disasters in the south of the country.

China's National Meteorological Centre issued multiple warnings over the weekend of heavy rains in areas of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi, Guangdong and the northwestern province of Xinjiang from Sunday to Monday, said the official Xinhua news agency.

A yellow alert was issued in parts of Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, indicating a relatively high risk of mountain flooding, Xinhua said.

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

Chinese meteorological data shows 2024 was the warmest year for the country since comparable records began more than six decades ago, the second straight year in which milestones were broken.

Last year's warmer weather was accompanied by stronger storms and higher rainfall and led to spikes in power consumption in the world's second-largest economy.

State broadcaster CCTV said heavy rain was also expected from Monday to Tuesday in areas including the far western region of Xinjiang along the Tianshan Mountains.

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Source: Reuters