China issues highest-level alert for rainstorms

BEIJING - China on Saturday issued a red alert for rainstorms, the most severe in its four-tier weather warning system. It also warned about possible geological disasters occurring in some rain-hit regions.

Some areas in Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Guizhou provinces should expect downpours, with some regions likely to experience heavy rain of up to 280 mm within 24 hours until 2 pm Sunday, according to the National Meteorological Center forecast.

The national observatory also issued a blue alert, the lowest level in the warning system, for convective weather such as thunder, strong wind and hailstorm, which is expected to hit many regions including Beijing, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Hubei, Anhui and Jiangsu during the period.

On Saturday, the country's top meteorological authority and the Ministry of Natural Resources jointly issued alerts for geological disasters, warning that there will be high risk of geological disasters in some regions in Anhui and Hubei on Saturday and Sunday, while parts of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Henan, Hunan and Guizhou should also guard against possible rain-induced geological disasters.