BEIJING - With torrential rain expected to hit most of southern China in the next three days, meteorological authorities issued a blue alert on Monday.

Heavy rain will batter regions including Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan and Guizhou provinces, as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from Monday, with precipitation up to 120 mm in some areas, along with gales and thunder, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.

It warned of natural disasters, such as floods, landslides and mud flows, in regions mentioned above.

Northwestern areas will experience moderate to strong rain in the coming three days.

The NMC also issued yellow alert for gales which will reach force 10 to 11 in some areas of the Yellow Sea, the South China Sea and the East China Sea on Monday.

The center uses a four-tier color-coded warning system, with red being the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.