BEIJING — China's Ministry of Water Resources warned that floods are expected to hit the country and called on relevant departments to make preparation.

Heavy rains have hit parts of southern, eastern and central China since March 25, pushing water levels in some rivers well above warning lines, the ministry said on March 28.

China entered its flood season on March 28, four days earlier than previous years, and the country may suffer from more and stronger rain as well as floods with more extreme weather forecast for the flood season, the ministry warned.

The process of repairing damaged water conservancy facilities should be pushed forward and examinations ahead of the flood season should be made to restore their functions in time, said E Jingping, minister of water resources.

He also called for more efforts on managing reservoir, preventing mountain floods and improving the precision of flood forecast.