THE country Sunday activated a level-IV emergency response, the lowest in the country’s four-tier warning system, after rainstorms triggered floods in central and southwestern regions of China, the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) said.

The China National Commission for Disaster Reduction and the MEM have sent special work teams to disaster areas in the provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou and Hunan to provide guidance in disaster relief.

Since the beginning of June, the floods have affected about 12 million people, leaving 78 people dead or missing. Over 8,000 houses collapsed while 97,000 houses were damaged in 13 provincial-level regions.

Direct economic losses amounted to 25.7 billion yuan (US$3.64 billion), according to the ministry.

President Xi Jinping has underlined the importance of putting people and life first in an instruction given on the country’s flood control and disaster relief work.

In the instruction released Sunday, Xi said that governments and departments should make overall arrangements concerning the current COVID-19 pandemic prevention measures as well as flood control, clearly identify responsibilities and combine prevention work with emergency response.

He also required efforts to strengthen monitoring over the flood situation, to detect potential risks in a timely manner and to well organize rescue and relief work.

Xi noted that people affected by the disasters should be resettled appropriately and that top priority should be given to people’s lives and safety.

Also on Sunday, 12 people died and 10 others were missing as of 4 p.m. after a heavy rainstorm hit Mianning County in Sichuan Province, local authorities said that day.

The rainstorm that battered Mianning from Friday to Saturday triggered floods in Yihai Township, where 10 people were killed and seven others remain missing, according to the county government.

In Gaoyang Sub-district, two vehicles plunged into a river after flooding damaged the highway, killing two people and leaving three others missing. (Xinhua)