BEIJING/LANZHOU - Local authorities in Gansu province in China's northwest have initiated relief efforts in response to flooding which claimed the lives of 10 people and left another 33 reported missing.

Torrential rainfall between Thursday and Friday triggered flash floods, which caused extensive damage to Yuzhong county and surrounding areas in Lanzhou, Gansu province. By noon on Sunday, Yuzhong No. 3 Middle School, one of the flood relief centers in the affected area, was accommodating 181 displaced people, including 23 children, who are mostly from Maliantan village in Yuzhong's Mapo township.

The rain began pounding Yuzhong, which is under the jurisdiction of the provincial capital of Lanzhou, as well as other areas of Lanzhou, with precipitation reaching 220.2 millimeters by noon on Friday.

The flood relief center is well-stocked with supplies such as rice, flour, oil, vegetables, eggs, milk, instant noodles, drinking water, and fruits including watermelon, largely thanks to community donations.

The school's dormitory building has 55 rooms and 330 beds available, while the school cafeteria has been repurposed to provide three meals a day for the evacuees.

Relief efforts are being supported by town and village officials, school staff, healthcare workers, police officers and community volunteers.

A temporary medical station has also been established to address basic health needs, while the nearby Yuzhong No 2 People's Hospital is ready to handle any major medical emergencies.

Meanwhile, according to transport authorities in the provincial capital Lanzhou, roads damaged by mountain torrents in Yuzhong reopened on Sunday and power supply has been restored.

The effort involved more than 700 rescuers and over 200 machines and vehicles.

Power was restored to residents affected by the disaster on Saturday night, according to the State Grid Gansu Electric Power Company. A total of 73 rescue vehicles, 42 generators and three power-generating vehicles, together with 330 repair personnel, were mobilized to ensure power supply in the area.

ALSO READ: Hundreds evacuated in Gansu after severe flooding

Chinese Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing has called for all-out efforts to search for people missing in mountain torrents, when directing emergency response work at the disaster site.

Zhang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, left for Yuzhong county on Friday evening to guide on-site search and rescue and emergency response work. He visited the hardest-hit villages of Maliantan and Jiuzhuanggou, as well as a hospital and multiple temporary shelters for relocated residents.

At the on-site command center, Zhang chaired a meeting on rescue and relief operations, stressing that the search for those who are missing remains the top priority and urging rescue workers to move as quickly as possible while taking precautions against secondary disasters.

He stressed the need for meticulous care for the injured and compassion towards victims' families, directing authorities to ensure adequate living conditions for all relocated residents.

Repairs to damaged transportation, telecommunications and power infrastructure should be accelerated, he added.

Given recent, repeated extreme weather events, Zhang urged enhanced accuracy in rainfall forecasting, close monitoring of areas vulnerable to mountain torrents and geological hazards, and prompt relocation of at-risk residents.

"After receiving the rainfall alert at 4 pm Thursday, our entire staff immediately conducted door-to-door notifications, warning residents to take precautionary measures and convincing camping tourists in vulnerable areas to evacuate," said Zhang Kefu, Party secretary of Yaogou village, who has been working on the relocation of affected residents.

"In all my years, I've never witnessed such a heavy rain. Stones as big as beds rushed down from the riverway. I stayed awake all night in my room, too terrified to close my eyes," 84-year-old Hao Xiuying told Xinhua from a relocation hotel.

Gansu issued alerts for mountain torrents and geological disasters on Saturday evening as rainstorms are still expected in many parts of the province.

ALSO READ: Three missing after flooding in Gansu

At 6 pm Saturday, an orange alert - the second-highest alert level in China's four-tier system - for mountain torrents was issued by the provincial department of water resources and the provincial meteorological bureau, warning of potential mountain torrents in the Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Dingxi city and Longnan city from 7 pm Saturday to 7 pm Sunday.

Additionally, at 7:30 pm Saturday, the provincial department of natural resources and the provincial meteorological bureau issued an orange alert for geological disasters, forecasting potential disasters such as collapse, landslide and mudslide in Yuzhong county in Lanzhou, Zhouqu county in the Gannan Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Anding district and Lintao county in Dingxi city, and Longnan city from 8 pm Saturday to 8 pm Sunday.

Emergency response for flood control

Also on Saturday, the Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level IV flood-control emergency response for five provincial-level regions, as heavy to torrential rains are predicted to sweep across vast parts of the country in the coming days.

From Aug 9 to 11, intense rainfall is expected to batter Henan, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Anhui, and Gansu, where the alert was already in place, with some areas facing extreme downpours.

The downpours may cause sharp water level rises in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers, while some small and medium-sized rivers in high-risk areas could exceed warning levels.

The ministry has urged local authorities to step up real-time monitoring of rainfall and river conditions, issue timely public alerts, and enhance urban waterlogging-prevention measures.

Special emphasis should be placed on mitigating risks in smaller rivers and ensuring early evacuations of residents in dangerous areas, according to the ministry.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Saturday initiated a Level-IV emergency response for flood control in the provincial-level regions of Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, and Chongqing.

The headquarters' office has dispatched work teams to Anhui and Hubei to assist and guide flood control efforts, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

READ MORE: Rivers in North, Northeast China pose high flood risk in August

On Saturday evening, the Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration jointly issued an orange alert for mountain torrents in parts of Henan, Hubei and Sichuan from Saturday night to Sunday night, noting that such disasters could also occur in other regions due to heavy rainfalls and urging local authorities to strengthen real-time monitoring, flood prevention alerts and precautionary evacuations.

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