China’s weather authorities on Tuesday issued rainstorm and severe weather alerts, warning that days of heavy downpours could unleash mountain torrents and landslides across multiple regions.
The National Meteorological Center on Tuesday issued alerts for rainstorms and severe convective weather, forecasting intense rainfall from Wednesday through Friday in the northern and north‑central parts of the country.
The Jiangnan region, south of the Yangtze River, and the Huanghuai region --covering provinces including Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shandong -- are also expected to be hit.
In Beijing, a short-duration downpour dumped more than 30 millimeters per hour of rainfall on Monday. The city's meteorological service responded with a blue rainstorm alert (the lowest-level weather warning), alongside blue alerts for geological hazards and mountain torrents.
Monday also marked the official start of Beijing's peak flood season, which runs annually from late July and early August. In response, the city activated a Level-IV emergency flood response -- the lowest level in China's four-tier warning system.
The neighboring Tianjin Municipality was hit by heavy rainfall on Monday afternoon, causing waterlogging on several urban roads and prompting authorities to launch emergency drainage operations and lower water levels at pumping stations in advance.
In the city's northern mountainous areas, the persistent rain has raised the meteorological risk of landslides and collapses. Local authorities there have also activated a Level-IV emergency flood response.
In north China's Hebei Province, severe convective weather struck multiple areas on Monday. A total of 45 weather stations, including those in Zhangjiakou, Chengde, Tangshan and Shijiazhuang, recorded rain exceeding 50 millimeters.
The Hebei provincial meteorological observatory issued yellow alerts for thunderstorms and strong winds, and an orange alert for hail as the province is expected to see thunderstorms or showers across most of its territory on Tuesday.
North China's Shanxi Province also issued blue alerts for thunderstorms and strong winds on Monday, warning of winds exceeding force 7 on the Beaufort scale. This will see intense lightning in some areas and short-duration downpours or hail -- affecting cities including Datong, Shuozhou, Xinzhou, Taiyuan and Yangquan.
To the south, Guangxi's meteorological observatory forecast rainfall on Tuesday, concentrated in the province's eastern and coastal areas, with heavy to torrential rain and extreme downpours expected in Hengzhou, Binyang and Guigang.
According to the Ministry of Water Resources, as of 9:00 Monday, 15 rivers remained above warning levels across provinces including Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Tianjin, Hebei, Yunnan and Guangxi, with the highest water level exceeding the alert mark by 2.29 meters.
The ministry has maintained a Level-IV emergency flood response for provinces including Guangxi, Hubei and Hunan.
China issues rainstorm alerts as downpours raise flood risks
