Heavy rain hits Qinzhou city in south China's Guangxi

A heavy rainstorm lashed the coastal city of Qinzhou in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday, flooding streets and disrupting traffic, with authorities warning of further downpours and secondary disasters.

The rain started in the early hours of Monday, and the hourly rainfall peaked at 143.3 millimeters in Jiulong Town. By 10:00, cumulative precipitation in some districts of Qinzhou reached 386.4 millimeters, according to the local meteorological bureau.

Streets in the urban area were inundated, traffic police were deployed to manage congestion, and schools suspended classes on Monday morning.

Though the rainfall in Qinzhou's urban area temporarily paused, forecasters expect heavy rain to continue through Tuesday, accompanied by brief thunderstorms, strong winds, and other severe convective weather.

The local meteorological authorities have also warned that risks of secondary hazards remain high, urging related departments to strengthen their emergency preparedness.

Chinese stocks closed higher on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.16 percent to 4,086.34 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.37 percent higher at 14,995.75 points.

The combined turnover of the two indices totaled 2.59 trillion yuan (about 377.7 billion U.S. dollars), down from 2.64 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

The semiconductor and memory chip sectors led the gains, while the liquor and agriculture sectors were among the biggest decliners.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.52 percent to close at 3,648.79 points.

The STAR Composite Index, which reflects the performance of stocks on China's sci-tech innovation board, closed 2.5 percent higher at 1,901.63 points.