Local authorities step up relief efforts after heavy rains hit western China

Continuous downpours have battered western regions of China in recent days, with local authorities taking measures to limit the impact on people’s lives.

Persistent heavy rain has lashed the cities of Hanzhong and Shangluo in northwest China's Shaanxi Province since Thursday, triggering 46 flood peaks, all below warning levels, at 38 monitoring stations on 27 rivers across the province.

In Ningqiang County, in Hanzhong City, rivers swollen with rain have forced local authorities to evacuate residents from low-lying areas along the rivers to local primary school buildings.

The rainfall has so far affected 82 towns and subdistricts across six counties and districts in Hanzhong, with local authorities intensifying efforts to identify potential risks and hazards.

The Office of the National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief and the Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched a working group to Shaanxi to support local disaster relief work, coordinating with the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration to allocate 65,000 disaster relief items to the province.

Nanjiang County in Bazhong City in southwest China's Sichuan Province activated a flood control emergency response on Sunday to cope with potential geological disasters such as landslides, following continued heavy rainfall which started on Saturday.

Town and village officials have preemptively relocated more than 8,000 residents in phases from hazard-prone areas to temporary shelters.

Heavy rain started to hit Kaizhou District of southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Sunday afternoon, with 100 to 150 millimeters of rain falling.

Local Party members and officials divided into teams to conduct door-to-door inspections, checking on residents in low-lying areas and along rivers and cliffs, while town and village patrol teams patrolled rain-hit areas and maintained 24-hour monitoring at geological hazard sites.

Southwest China's Yunnan Province is forecast to experience prolonged rainfall from Monday to Thursday, with heavy to torrential downpours in some areas and extreme localized rainstorms.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management have activated a Level-IV emergency response for flood control in Yunnan.

China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe.

Local authorities step up relief efforts after heavy rains hit western China

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday that its ongoing maritime blockade against Iran has redirected 44 commercial vessels, while a top Iranian military advisor warned that Iran will not tolerate any U.S. attempt to establish shipping lanes other than those designated by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on social media platform X, the command said that U.S. forces continue to strictly enforce the U.S. blockade against Iran. As of Monday, CENTCOM has redirected 44 commercial vessels, disabled two, and boarded two, it said.

On the same day, Mohsen Rezaei, military advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader, issued a firm warning over U.S. actions in the key shipping chokepoint.

Rezaei told media that Iran will never allow the United States to establish shipping routes outside those designated by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. He warned that even U.S. warships deployed along such routes would be treated as targets.

Rezaei stressed that while Iran does not seek war, its armed forces are fully prepared and ready to fight for the country. He called on the United States to change its behavior and comply with the terms of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries in June, cautioning that otherwise U.S. warships would face serious danger and Iran's armed forces would not stand by.

Separately, Rezaei revealed that Iran had previously prepared to carry out strikes on three locations in Ukraine but called off the plan after Ukraine issued an apology.

The planned retaliation followed a Ukrainian strike on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea on July 25, which killed one sailor and wounded three others.

On June 18, Iran and the United States signed the MoU, under which the two countries were scheduled to hold negotiations within a 60-day period to reach a final agreement. However, the talks' fate is hanging in the balance due to the recent escalation between the two sides.

The U.S. military launched multiple waves of strikes against Iranian targets last month, saying they were in response to Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and aimed at "degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping." Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting U.S. military bases and facilities in the region.

U.S. says 44 commercial ships redirected under blockade, Iran warns on Hormuz routes