CHONGQING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Rainstorms have battered southwest China's Chongqing Municipality since Thursday, leading to flooding in many parts of the city and a partial collapse of the wall of an ancient city gate, local authorities said Friday.

Statistics from the meteorological department showed that between 7:00 a.m. Thursday and 7:00 a.m. Friday, 253 hydrological monitoring stations in 27 districts and counties in Chongqing recorded torrential rains, with the highest hourly rainfall reaching 100.3 mm.

At 7 a.m. Friday, the wall of the city's ancient Tongyuan Gate in Yuzhong District partially collapsed due to heavy rains.

The city's flood control and drought relief authorities have initiated a Level IV emergency response to flooding.