Heavy rainstorms hit Beijing

From 6 p.m. Sunday to 8 p.m. Monday, Beijing registered average rainfall of 103.9 mm, while urban areas in the city reported higher average precipitation of 114.8 mm, reports Xinhua news agency. 

A region in the suburban district of Yanqing received the most precipitation of 198.9 mm. 

The Beijing municipality has issued yellow alerts for rainstorms, lightning, gales, and rain-triggered geological hazards. 

Four suburban districts of Huairou, Miyun, Shunyi, and Pinggu have upgraded their warnings to orange as rainstorms were likely to last till early Tuesday morning. 

Local meteorological authorities warned against potential floods and geological disasters. 

The districts of Fangshan, Mentougou, Changping, Haidian, Shijingshan, Yanqing, and Huairou saw gales of up to nine grades, which means the wind speed topped 24.4 metres per second. 

More than 2,900 personnel have done flood safety inspections on the city's main bridges and road facilities, the municipal flood control department said. 

The weather department alerted people to heavy rainstorms and potential geological hazards and asked them to keep away from rivers and disaster-prone areas. 

Kindergartens and primary and middle schools suspended classes on Monday and many parks and tourist destinations, particularly those in the mountainous regions, were already closed. 

The heavy rains also battered areas around Beijing, including Hebei, Tianjin, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong, from Sunday to Monday, the National Meteorological Centre said. 

The rains disrupted railway traffic in Shanxi after flooding destroyed a railway bridge, and rain-triggered landslides buried parts of another rail line. 

On Sunday evening, the centre issued the first orange alert for rainstorms this year, forecasting that precipitation in parts of north China could hit new records for July. 

The rains will likely weaken while moving northeastward and batter the provinces of Liaoning and Heilongjiang and the eastern part of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Tuesday, the National Meteorological Centre said.