BEIJING - China's weather department issued a rainstorm alert on Sunday and said widespread rainstorms are expected to sweep many southern provinces in the following two days.

Heavy rains or rainstorms will hit many regions in the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast.

Strong downpours and torrential weather are expected to pound some regions in Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi and Anhui from Sunday to Monday, the NMC said.

It urged local authorities to get prepared for possible flooding and geological disasters such as landslides mudslides.