NANNING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Wednesday upgraded its emergency response for natural disaster relief following two magnitude-5.2 earthquakes that struck Liunan District in the city of Liuzhou on Monday.

An aerial drone photo taken on May 18, 2026 shows rescuers carrying out rescue operations after an earthquake in Taiyangcun Community of Taiyangcun Town, Liuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo: Xinhua)

The office of the autonomous region commission for disaster prevention, mitigation and relief raised the emergency response for natural disaster relief from Level IV to Level III as of 6 p.m. Wednesday.

In response to the earthquakes and also flooding in the cities of Guilin and Fangchenggang, the regional emergency management department dispatched 14,200 additional relief items, including tents, folding beds and towel blankets, for relocated residents.

In the neighboring province of Guangdong, authorities activated a Level IV emergency response for flood control on Wednesday night.

Torrential rains have battered many parts of Guangdong since Tuesday, with 24-hour precipitation in one township in the city of Yangchun reaching 943 mm.

The Guangdong Meteorological Observatory forecast that heavy rain would continue to lash most cities and counties in Guangdong from Wednesday night through Thursday, before weakening significantly on Friday.

The observatory warned of heightened risks of flooding in small and medium-sized rivers, flash floods, geological disasters, and urban and rural waterlogging.