Rescuers head to a trapped villager in Kaiyuan Town of Shulan City, northeast China's Jilin province, Aug 6, 2023.(PHOTO / XINHUA)

HARBIN/CHANGCHUN - Fourteen people had been killed and one remained missing as of 10 pm Sunday after heavy rain battered the city of Shulan in northeast China's Jilin province, local authorities said.

Water levels in reservoirs and major rivers have so far receded to the safe range.

Shulan had experienced continuous rainy weather since Tuesday night. This round of rain has basically ended.

The local government has mobilized various rescue forces to relocate residents, repair roads, and restore power and communication to resume people's normal lives as soon as possible.

ALSO READ: Devastating floods shine spotlight on protection measures

Meanwhile, Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing called for efforts to minimize casualties and property losses during his inspection in northeast China's Heilongjiang province as rainstorms and floods wreaked havoc in the country over the past week.

Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing (second left), also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, directs flood control work in northeast China's Heilongjiang province on Aug 5 and Aug 6, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Zhang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, directed flood control work on front lines on Saturday and Sunday, checking on the relocation of local residents and inspecting water levels.

As of 4 pm Sunday, the emergency management department in Heilongjiang has allocated batches of disaster relief supplies to the flood-hit areas across the province amid the latest round of floods

More professional forces should be deployed to search and rescue the missing and trapped people, Zhang said, stressing that no effort should be spared.

Zhang said local authorities should strive to bring down water levels in reservoirs, reinforce dikes, and swiftly evacuate residents in affected areas. Communication, transportation, power and water facilities should be restored fast to ensure people's lives can return to normalcy at an early date.

ALSO READ: Chinese flood control authorities vow all-out rescue efforts

As of 4 pm Sunday, the emergency management department in Heilongjiang has allocated batches of disaster relief supplies to the flood-hit areas across the province amid the latest round of floods.

These supplies include 400 tents, 10,900 foldable beds, 10,900 sets of quilts, 2,500 parcels of daily necessities, 250 raincoats, 250 pairs of rain shoes, and so on, said the department on Sunday.

Firefighters transfer stranded residents in Yanshou County of Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang province, Aug 5, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration have also urgently allocated family emergency kits and other disaster relief materials to Heilongjiang to meet the needs of those in the flood-hit areas.

READ MORE: Rescue, relief put lives first

The typhoon-induced heavy rains have kept pushing the water level of dozens of rivers in Heilongjiang above the warning mark over the recent days.

As of 8 am Sunday, the water level of 24 rivers in the province exceeded the warning mark by 4 cm to 2.51 meters, said the provincial hydrology and water resources center.