-- In Mianning County, one of the worst-hit areas in southwest China's Sichuan Province, rescuers aided with life detectors, sniffer dogs and demolition equipment are combing every house. Twelve people have been reported dead and 10 others missing as of 4 p.m. Sunday.

-- Chongqing Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters deployed more than 50 emergency rescue vehicles and excavators and over 300 speedboats and rubber boats to aid rescuers searching for victims.

by Xinhua writers Fang Ning, Wu Guangyu, Ke Gaoyang and Chen Shangying

BEIJING, June 29 -- Chinese authorities at all levels are making all-out efforts in rescue and relief, as torrential rains continue to wreak havoc, triggering flooding and geological hazards in vast stretches of the country.

Rescuers work in Yihai Township of Mianning County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, June 28, 2020. (Photo by Wang Yun/Xinhua)

The country has entered its rainy season since this month with rainstorms hitting many parts in southern China.

National observatory on Monday issued a blue alert for rainstorms as heavy downpours are forecast to batter the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hebei, and Shandong from Monday morning to Tuesday morning, making the regions flood prone.

President Xi Jinping has called for all-out efforts to prevent floods and geological disasters, intensify rescue and relief work, and ensure that people's lives and safety are the top priority.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed the need to put people first, and value their lives most in the battle against floods.

He underscored the necessity to coordinate epidemic prevention with flood control and disaster relief work, combine efforts at preparation for prevention with emergency response, strengthen flood monitoring and promptly identify risks.