BEIJING, June 19 -- The Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration on Thursday issued this year's first red alert for mountain torrents in Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi and Guizhou.

From 8 p.m. Thursday to 8 p.m. Friday, parts of these six provincial-level regions will be at high risk of mountain torrents, with some areas extremely likely to be hit.

The above-mentioned regions are urged to strengthen real-time monitoring work, issue timely warnings, and carry out evacuations if necessary.

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