Rainstorms disrupt highway, railway traffic in China's Hebei

SHIJIAZHUANG, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Several highways have been closed with more than 100 passenger trains delayed or suspended in north China's Hebei, as heavy rains and gales lashed many parts of the province since late Tuesday afternoon.

The provincial meteorological observatory issued a yellow alert for rainstorms at 5:00 a.m. Wednesday. The Meteorological Bureau of Hebei and the province's water resources bureau and natural resources department have jointly issued warnings for geological disasters.

Urban waterlogging was also forecast by the meteorological disaster prevention center of Hebei on Tuesday.

Hebei's meteorological disaster prevention headquarters issued an emergency warning on Wednesday morning, calling on all units across the province to do their best to combat torrential rains in the central and southern regions.

China's national observatory on Wednesday morning activated an orange alert for rainstorms, the second-highest in its color-coded weather warning system, in many parts of the country including central China's Henan Province and neighboring Hebei.

From Wednesday morning to Thursday morning, heavy rains and rainstorms are expected to continue in Henan and its neighboring provinces, the observatory said. Parts of Henan and Hebei will see also rainstorms with up to 280 mm of daily precipitation.