Beijing : China warned on Monday of the risk of flooding and other weather-related disasters as heavy rain lashed several parts of the country, prompting authorities to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people from high-risk areas.
The national forecaster maintained its second-highest level of precipitation alert for several regions, particularly northwestern Shaanxi, southwestern Chongqing, Guizhou and Guangxi, as well as southern Guangdong.
In Shaanxi, the provincial meteorological observatory raised its storm alert and warned of waterlogging and flash floods. Authorities have relocated 87,987 people from high-risk areas since July 30.
Torrential rain in northern parts of the low-lying Sichuan Basin and elsewhere has triggered eight geological disasters in cities including Yibin, Ziyang, Meishan and Guangyuan, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
No casualties have been reported, but Sichuan authorities evacuated a further 40,249 people across 20 cities on Monday as a precaution. The total number of people relocated to safety in the southwestern province has reached 922,058 since the flooding season began in mid-July, CCTV said.
The Ministry of Natural Resources said numerous rivers across the country had risen above warning levels and issued a red alert for flash floods in central Chongqing.
In Yunnan, heavy rain is forecast to continue from Monday through Thursday, bringing a high risk of flash floods, geological disasters and river flooding.
In eastern China, coastal areas are expected to feel the effects of Typhoon Dolphin later this week, with strong winds and rain forecast from Thursday through the weekend, CCTV said.
