China renews yellow alert for rainstorms

BEIJING -- China's national observatory Tuesday renewed a yellow alert for rainstorms across vast stretches of the country.

From Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon, heavy rains and rainstorms are very likely in southeast parts of the Sichuan Basin and provincial-level regions, including Guizhou, Yunnan, and Guangxi, the National Meteorological Center said.

The center warned that some areas in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Guangxi would experience downpours with up to 180 mm of rainfall in 24 hours.

Some regions

will see thunderstorms, strong winds, and over 80 mm of hourly precipitation, the center said.

The center advised local authorities to remain alert for possible flooding, landslides, and mudslides and recommended halting outdoor operations in hazardous areas.

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

The center also renewed a blue alert for severe convection weather, forecasting that parts of Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang would experience thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail from Tuesday evening to Wednesday evening.

The Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration also issued an orange alert for mountain torrents. The ministry warned of a high possibility of these torrents occurring in parts of Jiangxi and Guangxi from Tuesday evening to Wednesday evening. They are also likely to occur in parts of Zhejiang, Hunan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.

Local authorities should enhance disaster prevention work such as real-time monitoring and early warning and evacuation, the ministry and the administration said.