China: Yellow alert renewed due to severe rainstorms

China’s National Meteorological Center on Sunday renewed a yellow alert yet again as severe rainstorms hit some parts of the country.

From 8am Sunday to 8am Monday, rainstorms are expected in parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and Hubei, and heavy downpours up to 140 mm may lash parts of these regions, reported Xinhua.

Accompanied by thunderstorms and gales, some of these regions are expected to experience short-term heavy rainfall with up to over 70 mm of hourly precipitation.

Parts of Henan, Anhui, Shandong and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region are also likely to see heavy rains, Xinhua reported, citing the center. The meteorological center has advised local governments to make appropriate preparations and check the drainage systems in cities, farmland, and fishponds.The centre has also suggested taking traffic control measures in road sections hit by heavy downpours, guiding traffic in water-logged streets, and halting outdoor operations in hazardous areas.

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China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow, and blue. The torrential rains and rain-induced floods since May 28 have wreaked havoc in 80 counties of the province.

As per the local authorities, in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, more than 3.75 million residents have been affected by floods and heavy rains.

A total of 548,000 people were affected due to the heavy rain in China’s Jiangxi province last Tuesday, according to the provincial flood control headquarters.

According to East China’s Jiangxi Province, Direct economic losses from the floods touched 470 million yuan (about 70.4 million US dollars). Multiple low-lying areas in Chongqing are flooded across its 39 districts and counties with maximum rainfall reaching 213.5 m.

On Wednesday, China issued a yellow alert for high temperatures and heatwaves in various parts of the country. The forecast also mentioned that the temperature might reach 39 or 40 degrees Celsius in some of these regions.

The residents were advised to avoid working outdoors during daylight hours and workers who are exposed to the high temperatures to take necessary preventive measures, the local media reported.

Earlier on Monday, China’s National Meteorological Center renewed its yellow alert for rainstorms in several parts of the country. In order to tackle heavy rains, China upgraded its flood control emergency response to level II.