Beijing issues red alert for heavy rain

BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Beijing on Saturday evening issued a red alert for rainstorms, as heavy rains brought by Typhoon Doksuri are expected to pound the Chinese capital and vast areas in the north.

Heavy rain will hit most parts of Beijing between Saturday night and Tuesday, and the municipal meteorological bureau has warned of torrential rains in the capital's western and southern areas.

The bureau upgraded an orange alert that was issued at midday to a red alert, and warned of mountain torrents and geological disasters. Residents have received text message warnings to stay indoors on Saturday night.

A red alert is issued when precipitation is expected to exceed 100 millimeters within an hour, or 150 millimeters within six hours.

Typhoon Doksuri made landfall in east China's Fujian Province on Friday morning, bringing strong gales and heavy rain. It moved north to Jiangxi Province on Friday night, where it gradually weakened into a tropical storm, edging further north to impact Beijing, Tianjin and the northern provinces of Hebei and Shanxi.

Beijing's neighbor Hebei raised its emergency response level to Level II on Saturday, indicating a major meteorological disaster. The provincial meteorological bureau and water conservancy department have issued an alert for mountain torrents, warning that some cities, including the provincial capital Shijiazhuang and the Xiong'an New Area, should expect heavy downpours of 250 to 450 millimeters.

Rain has also battered many parts of the country's eastern Shandong Province since Friday night. Shandong has issued a yellow alert for heavy rains, alongside alerts for mountain torrents and geological disasters.