GUANGZHOU - Three people were killed and one remains missing after a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall hit a three-story building in a village in south China's Guangdong province early Sunday, local authorities reported Monday morning.

The landslide struck the building around 7 am in Pingtougang village, located in the city of Gaozhou, trapping seven people, according to Gaozhou's emergency management bureau, adding that the landslide occurred about 20 meters behind the building.

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Six people were rescued, but three of them died later despite emergency treatment. The other three are receiving hospital care but are not in critical condition.

Search and rescue efforts, involving over 140 policemen, firefighters and doctors, are ongoing for the missing person. 

Level-IV emergency 

China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters activated Level-IV emergency response measures in readiness for possible flooding in Fujian and Guangxi on Sunday.

A work team has been dispatched to Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, south China, to assist and provide on-site guidance, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Heavy rainstorms are forecast to sweep parts of Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang from Sunday to Monday, according to the weather forecast.

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Authorities have urged efforts to closely monitor both rainfall and flood developments, strengthen meteorological early warnings and emergency response, and relocate people in dangerous areas to ensure their safety.

China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with Level I being the highest level.