BEIJING, May 20 -- China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) on Wednesday issued a yellow alert for rainstorms in its southern regions.

Heavy rainfall will lash the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Fujian as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday afternoon, the NMC said.

The observatory advised local governments to brace for the bad weather and residents to stay indoors.

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