China issues blue alert for rainstorms

Beijing [China], July 27 : China's water and meteorological authorities and agencies issued alerts on Wednesday for rainstorms and mountain torrents in some parts of the country, according to local media.
Citing National Meteorological Center, Xinhua News Agency reported that rainstorms are expected in parts of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Guizhou and Sichuan today.
Heavy downpours of up to 200 mm may lash parts of these regions, and some areas will also experience short-term heavy rainfall, with over 70 mm of hourly precipitation, accompanied by thunderstorms and gales, the center said.
China's Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration also jointly issued a blue alert for possible mountain torrents on Wednesday.
Xinhua reported that from 8 pm (local time) Wednesday to 8 pm (local time) Thursday, some regions in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia and Liaoning will be prone to mountain torrents, according to the alert.
A yellow alert was issued for the western part of Hebei, which is highly likely to see mountain floods.
Citing authorities, Xinhua reported that they have advised related government agencies to prepare for heavy rainfall, strengthen real-time monitoring and flood warnings, and brace for the evacuation of local residents.
Drivers have been alerted to watch out for flooding and traffic jams, while orders have been given to check the drainage systems in cities, farmland and fishponds.
China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue, as per the report.