North China on highest-level alerts as rainstorms linger

BEIJING/SHIJIAZHUANG -- Beijing and Hebei have continued the highest level alerts on Monday as downpours continue to lash the region.

Meteorological authorities in Beijing maintained a red alert for rainstorms on Monday morning and warned of torrential rains between 10 am Monday and 8 am Tuesday.

Latest data shows that from 8 pm Saturday to 10 am Monday, the average rainfall in Beijing was 157.8 mm, with the maximum rainfall exceeding 538 mm in a village in the suburban Fangshan District.

As of 10 am, Monday, operations on 275 bus lines run by Beijing Public Transport Corporation were affected, and several train routes in the suburban areas suspended service.

Meanwhile, the neighboring Hebei Province has also activated the highest level alerts for rainstorms, flood control, and waterlogging prevention in response to the heavy rainfall.

The Hebei provincial meteorological observatory continued to issue a red alert for rainstorms at 8:59 am on Monday. It forecast that stormy weather will persist on Monday in parts of Zhangjiakou, Chengde, Tangshan, Baoding, the Xiong'an New Area, Langfang, and Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital, with accumulative precipitation likely exceeding 250 mm in some areas.