Amid heavy rainstorms in several parts, China renews yellow alert

China's National Meteorological Center on Monday renewed its yellow alert for rainstorms in several parts of the country, reported Xinhua.

According to the National Meteorological Center, rainstorms are expected in parts of Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangxi and Tibet from Monday 2 p.m. to Tuesday 2 p.m.The parts of these regions will experience downpours with up to over 80 mm of hourly precipitation, the forecast stated.

Due to severe thunderstorms and heavy rains, the centre has also advised halting outdoor operations in hazardous areas and urged airports, railways, expressways and water transportation units to take safety measures such as flight restrictions, speed limits, or temporary closures to ensure personnel and traffic safety.

The centre has also advised local authorities to prepare for rainstorms, thunderstorms, gales and hails, and be vigilant against flash floods, landslides and mudslides and drivers have been alerted as transport authorities have been asked to guide traffic in water-logged streets.

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

Direct economic losses from the floods touched 470 million yuan (about 70.4 million US dollars), according to East China's Jiangxi Province.China upgraded its flood control emergency response to level II amid heavy rains.

The heavy rain brought the first floods this year in Changjiang River and Xiuhe River in the province, according to the provincial hydrological monitoring centre.

China's national observatory on Saturday renewed a yellow alert for high temperatures, as heatwaves hit vast regions of the country post devastating floods.

During daylight hours, parts of Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, Guangdong, Fujian and Xinjiang are expected to reach temperatures of 35 to 36 degrees Celsius, whereas in some regions it is expected to cross 40 degrees Celsius as well.

The centre advised avoiding outdoor activities during high-temperature periods in the afternoon and suggested that workers exposed to high temperatures take necessary protective measures.

In order to tackle heavy rains, China upgraded its flood control emergency response to level II.

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.

The local meteorological department had predicted further rainstorms in the province this week.

According to local authorities, the torrential rains and rain-induced floods since May 28 have wreaked havoc in 80 counties of the province.