China renews yellow alert for rainstorms

Firefighters transfer stranded residents in Longgang District of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 7, 2023. Extremely heavy rainstorm has lashed Shenzhen since Thursday night, according to the municipal meteorological bureau. (Photo by Wei Weijia/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's National Meteorological Center on Saturday evening renewed a yellow alert for rainstorms as heavy downpours are expected to lash parts of China.

From 8 p.m. Saturday to 8 p.m. Sunday, heavy rainfall is forecast to hit parts of Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan and Sichuan, according to the center.

Some areas of the aforementioned regions may experience heavy downpours, with maximum hourly precipitation surpassing 80 millimeters, accompanied by strong convective weather, including thunderstorms and gales.

The center has advised local governments to prepare for rainstorms, and traffic management authorities to implement proper traffic control on road sections hit by heavy rainfall.

It has suggested disconnecting at-risk outdoor power supplies, suspending outdoor operations in open areas, and transferring people from vulnerable areas to safer places.

Work should also be done to check the drainage systems of cities, farmland and fishponds, while necessary drainage measures should be implemented, according to the center.

As of 3 p.m. Friday, the average rainfall in Shenzhen, a coastal city in south China's Guangdong Province, has broken seven meteorological records since Shenzhen started keeping such records in 1952, according to the municipal meteorological bureau.

Over 80,000 people in Guangdong Province have been evacuated to safety as of 5 p.m. Friday due to heavy rainfall and flooding, according to the provincial flood, drought and typhoon control headquarters.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.