China renews blue alert for heavy rain

BEIJING - China's national observatory has renewed a blue alert for heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday.

From Saturday to Sunday afternoon, heavy rain is expected to hit parts of Beijing and Tianjin municipalities, Inner Mongolia and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regions, as well as provinces of Jilin, Hebei, Guangdong and Hainan, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Some areas in Hebei, Beijing and Guangxi will be hit by up to 300 mm of rainfall within 24 hours.

The center advised local governments to keep alert to possible flooding, landslides and mudslides caused by the heavy rain and recommended outdoor operations be halted in hazardous areas.

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