BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- China's national observatory has issued a yellow alert for heavy rain on Sunday and Monday.

From Sunday to Monday morning, heavy rain is expected to hit parts of municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, provinces of Anhui, Guangdong, Hainan, Hebei, Jilin, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shanxi, Yunnan and Zhejiang, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Some areas in provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, Jiangsu and Zhejiang will receive up to 260 mm of rainfall within 24 hours.

The center advised local governments to take precautions against possible flooding, landslides, and mudslides caused by the heavy rain and recommended outdoor activities be halted in hazardous areas.

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