Heavy rains hit more Chinese cities

ZHENGZHOU/SHIJIAZHUANG, July 22 (Xinhua) -- More cities in China's Henan Province have been hit with torrential rains that have left 33 dead and eight missing.

At 11 a.m. Thursday, Henan's provincial meteorological observatory reissued a top-level red alert for heavy rains in the cities of Anyang, Hebi, Xinxiang and Jiaozuo.

The accumulated precipitation in certain areas of the four cities has exceeded 50 mm and will exceed 100 mm in the next three hours.

As of 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, over 470,000 people have been affected by flooding in Xinxiang alone.

The meteorological observatory in Hebei Province has also recorded torrential rains, renewing a red alert at 9:29 a.m. Thursday as heavy downpours continued to lash the cities of Handan, Xingtai and Shijiazhuang.

The accumulated rainfall in parts of the three cities was estimated to be as high as 350 mm at noon on Thursday.

Over the past few days, record rainfalls in Henan have caused extensive waterlogging, with approximately 3 million people affected.