North China on highest-level alerts as rainstorms linger

People walk amid the rain in Beijing, capital of China, July 30, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

BEIJING/SHIJIAZHUANG, July 31 (Xinhua) -- 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 due to forecasts of torrential rain between 10 am Monday and 8 am Tuesday, and warned that small- and medium-sized rivers could experience flash floods and landslides.

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.

The western, southern and urban areas of Beijing could see up to 40-80 mm of rainfall on Monday.

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.

As of Monday noon, more than 54,890 people in the city of Baoding in Hebei had been evacuated, and powerful flood waters had destroyed several bridges in the city's Fuping Township, according to the city's flood control and drought relief headquarters.

Some northern areas of Baoding are currently operating under a Level II risk level for water logging, the second highest.