13 killed, 34 missing as heavy rains lash Chinese cities

At least 13 people have been killed and 34 others remain missing as a fresh bout of heavy rains lashed Beijing and a number of provinces in China, prompting officials to issue storm alerts and warnings of geological disasters like landslides.
The Hebei Provincial Meteorological Bureau issued a red rainstorm alert, forecasting more heavy rains in the coming hours. Red is the most serious in China's four-tier colour- coded system for severe weather.
Eight people were killed and 34 others were listed missing in Hubei province which has declared a red alert for heavy rains, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

In another incident, five workers in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province were killed while repairing sewerage equipment ahead of heavy rain.
Liu Yanfei, from Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang, was called out to repair a dysfunctional pump on Tuesday.
He inhaled toxic fumes while working, fainted and fell into the water. Several of his colleagues attempted to save him, only to fall into the water themselves.

Two of the workers were later rescued, while five others, including Liu, died.
Rescuers suspect that the fumes were methane.
Heavy rain across the south since June followed by a powerful tornado and hailstorm in Yancheng City in China's Jiangsu Province has claimed over 320 lives.

Beijing's meteorological authoritytoday issued an orange alert, the second-highest level as heavy rain hit the capital, disrupting traffic and forcing the cancellation of flights.
The average precipitation in the capital reached 129.4 mm, with the maximum precipitation of 334 mm recorded in the suburban district of Fangshan.
The capital issued a blue storm alert yesterday and raised it to orange.
As a result of rain, 226 flights have been cancelled at Beijing International Airport.
Train services have also been disrupted. In Beijing, 13 waterlogged road sections had been temporarily closed to traffic.
A total of 164 bus routes have been affected by the storm.

The Beijing Municipal Flood Control Office asked people to limit their travel, take public transport and stagger their commutes after work.
Besides Beijing, torrential rain is also forecast in parts of Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Yunnan.
The National Meteorological Center advised people living in the affected areas to prepare for possible floods, landslides and mud and rock flows and those that live in mountainous areas to move to safe places.