Three people have been confirmed dead after being trapped in an underground parking garage amid severe urban flooding triggered by torrential rainfall in Longshan county, Central China's Hunan province, local authorities said Friday.
Water levels in the county's Guoli River surged after days of heavy rain, inundating several residential compounds, according to Longshan county's publicity department.
Four residents reportedly entered the underground garage at a residential compound on Thursday in an attempt to move their vehicles. One person was rescued early Friday at 4:35 am and is in stable condition.
READ MORE: Eight confirmed dead in South China mountain torrent
Heavy downpours have battered Longshan county since Wednesday evening. Authorities raised the flood emergency response to the second-highest level at 10:30 am on Thursday.
Mountain torrents red alert
China's meteorological and water resources authorities issued this year's first red alert for mountain torrents in some central, eastern and southern regions on Thursday evening.
In the country's four-tier warning system, red represents the highest level, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
From 8 pm Thursday to 8 pm Friday, mountain torrents are highly likely to hit some areas of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, said the Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration.
READ MORE: NE China's Jilin issues orange alert for mountain torrents
The two departments emphasized that local authorities should implement timely preventive measures such as real-time monitoring, flood prevention warnings and evacuation measures.
The National Meteorological Center renewed an orange alert for rainstorms on Friday morning, warning heavy rainfall in areas such as Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi from Friday to Sunday. The cumulative precipitation level could reach 500 millimeters in certain areas.
These areas may also experience severe convective weather such as short-term heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and strong winds, the center added.
With Xinhua inputs
