Heavy rains in Beijing have prompted the government to issue orange alert status. (Photo : Getty Images)
The continuous heavy rains in Beijing, forcing cancelled flights and disrupting the traffic, have prompted the government to upgrade the storm alert to orange on Wednesday, the Global Times reported.
The orange alert is the second highest in the country's four-tier warning system.
According to the Chinese capital's meteorological officials, about 70 mm of rain fell in six hours in Beijing's central and southern regions.
The authorities further noted that the heavy rain is expected to last until Wednesday evening and may exceed 100 mm.
On Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., the city government has issued a blue storm and raised to yellow the following morning. The orange alert was issued early Wednesday afternoon.
Due to the rain, the Beijing International Airport has already cancelled a total of 169 flights. Furthermore, train services were also disrupted.
The orange alert for rainstorms is maintained throughout the country, the national meteorological authority stated on Wednesday.
Weather reports also noted that apart from Beijing, heavy rains will also hit parts of Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin and Tianjin from Wednesday to Thursday afternoon.
The rainfall is expected to reach up to 240 mm in some areas in the mentioned regions.
The National Meteorological Center has already advised residents in the affected area to get ready and be cautious for possible landslides, flood and mud and rock flows.
The authority has also encouraged people in the mountainous areas to evacuate to safer places.In China's four-tier storm warning system, red is the most serious followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Earlier this month, the country has experienced its worst flood since 1998 with the coming of Super Typhoon Nepartak, which killed hundreds and left dozens of individuals missing.
