Heavy rain forces evacuation of over 20,000 people in north China's Hebei

SHIJIAZHUANG, July 30 (Xinhua) -- A total of 20,656 people in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, have been evacuated as the province has been experiencing continuous heavy rainfall since Friday due to Typhoon Doksuri, the fifth typhoon of this year.

From 8 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Sunday, downpours battered most parts of Hebei. The precipitation at some meteorological observation stations in the province has exceeded 400 mm. The provincial meteorological observatory continued to issue a red alert for heavy rain at 5 a.m. Sunday.

As the rainstorm is forecasted to continue, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters decided to upgrade the flood control and typhoon emergency response from level III to level II at 1 a.m. Sunday.

Fuping County, situated in the remote region of Taihang Mountain, has relocated 1,901 people from 601 households at risk of mountain floods and geological disasters.