China braces for heavy rain; issues alert

Chinese meteorologists today warned that heavy rain will lash regions in the country's southwest in the next three days, asking authorities to closely watch the weather and brace for any situations.
Regions in southwest China's Sichuan Basin will experience downpour of up to 130 mm within 24 hours.
The precipitation will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday, with parts of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces as well as Tibet Autonomous Region expecting heavy rains, the National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said.
Heavy rain or rainstorm will also hit regions in Hebei, Henan and Shandong provinces as well as Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian over the next 24 hours, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The observatory issued a blue alert, the least serious of the nation's four-tier warning system, for torrential weather as hailstone and thunderstorm are expected in some parts of Shanxi, Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Guangdong provinces today and tomorrow.
The NMC cautioned that local governments should take precautionary measures and put officials on alert to deal with any situations.