Heavy rain to hit N, SW China

BEIJING - Heavy rain will hit parts of north and southwest China over the next two days, said the National Meteorological Center (NMC) on Monday.

The center issued a blue alert for rainstorms. It said heavy rain and downpours will sweep parts of north China, regions along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers, parts of Shaanxi, Jiangxi and Yunnan provinces, and some areas of the Sichuan Basin.

The precipitation could amount to 150 mm in some of these areas, where a new round of rainstorms will occur from Wednesday to Friday, it was forecast.

The center warned the earthquake-stricken region in Sichuan will see rain over the next four days. Downpours will sweep the western part of the basin on Wednesday and Thursday, with precipitation of 250 to 300 mm and risks of secondary disasters.

Strong rain has affected more than 508,000 people in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, according to local authorities.

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