China renews blue alert for rainstorms

China's National Meteorological Center on Monday renewed a blue alert for rainstorms in some parts of the country, media reported.

From 2 p.m. Monday to 2 p.m. Tuesday, rainstorms are expected in parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Henan, Anhui and Shandong, and heavy downpours up to 180 mm may lash parts of these regions, the centre said.

Some of these regions will also experience short-term heavy rainfall with up to over 70 mm of hourly precipitation, accompanied by thunderstorms and gales.

The meteorological centre has advised local governments to make appropriate preparations and check the drainage systems in cities, farmland and fishponds, reported Xinhua.

It has also called for adopting traffic control measures in road sections affected by heavy downpours, guiding traffic in water-logged streets, and halting outdoor operations in hazardous areas.

Earlier on Saturday, eight people were killed after a decorative building structure fell from a height of about 12 meters at 6:28 p.m. in north China's Hebei Province, local authorities said.

The incident happened during a rainstorm in the Luquan District of Shijiazhuang, the capital city of Hebei. The fallen structure hit nine people sheltering from the rain. One person is currently hospitalized with stable vital signs, according to the district government.

Further investigations are underway. Notably, several parts of China are experiencing heavy rainfall and floods.

The torrential rainfalls in China have induced floods in several parts of the country including Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province.

As per the forecast, some of these areas can expect rainfall of up to 100-160 millimetres and short-term heavy precipitation with hourly rainfall of 30-70 millimetres. Forecasts also mentioned the thunderstorm winds of magnitude 8-10 and hail, which may exceed magnitude 12 in certain areas.

The torrential rains and rain-induced floods since May 28 have wreaked havoc in 80 counties of the province. As per the local authorities, in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, more than 3.75 million residents have been affected by floods and heavy rains.

A total of 548,000 people were affected due to the heavy rain in China's Jiangxi province last Tuesday, according to the provincial flood control headquarters. According to East China's Jiangxi Province, Direct economic losses from the floods touched 470 million yuan (about 70.4 million US dollars).

Multiple low-lying areas in Chongqing are flooded across its 39 districts and counties with maximum rainfall reaching 213.5 m.

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