BEIJING — The Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration issued an alert on May 11 for mountain torrents in parts of southern China.

From May 11 night to May 12 night, some areas in the central and southwestern provinces of Hunan and Guizhou and Chongqing Municipality will be prone to mountain torrents.

To guard against mountain torrent disasters, the two agencies told local authorities to strengthen real-time monitoring and flood warnings and brace for evacuation.

Mountain torrents are caused by heavy rain, which is frequent in summer.