BEIJING -- China's flood control authorities on Tuesday activated a Level-IV emergency response for Guizhou province in its Southwest, while maintaining the same alert level for Chongqing, also in southwest China, and Hunan and Hubei in Central China, as torrential rains will continue to batter these regions.

The office of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, together with the Ministry of Emergency Management, convened a multi-agency meeting to assess the evolving weather threat and coordinate relief efforts across several hard-hit provincial-level regions, including Anhui and Jiangsu in East China, and Central China's Henan.

Forecasters also warned that widespread downpours will persist through Thursday in the country's southern areas. Authorities ordered heightened monitoring, particularly during nighttime storms, and demanded that early warnings reach villages and households without delay.

Local governments should also step up patrols of reservoirs, levees and river-adjacent infrastructure, and be ready to conduct rush repairs at the first sign of danger.