Heavy rains batter western China, triggering red alerts, emergency response

Torrential downpours have struck multiple regions across western China since Monday, prompting authorities to issue the highest-level weather warnings and activate emergency protocols to protect lives and property.

In Qiemo County, the Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, persistent heavy rainfall since Monday has caused severe flooding and road traffic disruptions.

At 10:48 Tuesday, the local meteorological observatory upgraded its warning to red — the most severe level in China's four-tier alert system — prompting swift action to safeguard residents and traffic infrastructure.

The deluge has already proven dangerous. At 14:00 Monday, flash floods triggered by continuous mountain rainfall left an off-road vehicle stranded in rising floodwaters, trapping two occupants inside. A passing herder spotted the emergency and rushed to their rescue, ultimately pulling both individuals to safety.

By the early hours of Tuesday, the floodwaters in urban areas had reached a high of 30 to 40 centimeters in some parts of Qiemo County, stranding multiple vehicles and blocking roads. Local traffic police immediately launched a severe weather emergency plan, directing vehicles away from submerged intersections, rescuing stranded residents, and working to restore safe passage.

As of 13:00 Tuesday, rainfall in Qiemo had begun to ease, while recovery efforts are continuing in an orderly manner.

Meanwhile, in Duyun City, the Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, the flood situation was equally dire.

The local meteorological monitoring recorded extreme rainfall at one station and torrential downpours at three others between Monday afternoon and the early hours of Tuesday.

Severe waterlogging in parts of the city prompted authorities to raise the flood control emergency response from Level III to Level II — the second-highest tier.

All schools across Duyun were closed for the day as multiple government departments activated contingency plans and organized orderly evacuation of residents from danger zones.

By 8:00 Tuesday, the intensity of rainfall in Duyun had weakened, allowing the emergency response to be downgraded to Level IV.

Heavy rains batter western China, triggering red alerts, emergency response

The first and second volumes of selected works of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Party building have been published and are available for distribution in China.

The two volumes compile 102 pieces of the most important and fundamental works by Xi on Party building from November 2012 to February 2026, which come in forms such as reports, speeches, articles and instructions.

The publication of the works will provide authoritative materials for Party members, officials, and the public to study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building.

It is of great significance for the entire Party to apply Xi Jinping Thought on Party Building to plan and advance the Party's development and exercise full and rigorous Party self-governance with higher standards and more concrete actions.

Compiled by the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, the books were published by the Central Party Literature Press.

Selected works of Xi Jinping on Party building published