BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- China's national weather observatory on Friday issued a yellow alert for rainstorms in parts of the country's central and southern regions.

Torrential rain will hit areas including Henan, Shanghai, Hubei, Guizhou, and Chongqing in the 24 hours up to 8 a.m. Saturday, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC). Some places in Anhui, Jiangsu and Hunan are expected to see rainstorms with precipitation up to 160 mm.

The rain will also be accompanied by thunder and gales in some areas, the NMC said.

The NMC warned of waterlogging in cities and floods, landslides and mud flows in mountainous areas.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.