Heavy downpours that have been battering southern parts of China over the past few days, causing floods and landslides, are forecast to last until June 22, the National Meteorological Center said.The center warned that heavy rain had saturated the soil in the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong, along with the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. People in those areas should prepare for floods, landslides and other disasters, it said.After Saturday, the rain will move north and affect the Yangtze River region. Starting on June 22, the rain will subside in southern China, the center said.Since May, rainfall in most parts of southern China increased by 30 to 70 percent compared with the same period last year, the center said. The average precipitation in Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi hit 572 millimeters, the third-largest amount to fall in those areas since 1961.A rainstorm on Tuesday in Sanming, Fujian, flooded houses and crops. Landslides caused the suspension of transportation on some roads. A power blackout on Monday hit an office building, local media reported.A video by China News Service made on Monday in Longyan, Fujian province, showed firefighters transporting an elderly patient to an ambulance on a raft because of floods.Another video made by the news service on Monday in Quannan county, Jiangxi, showed village officials and staff members from emergency response and transportation departments clearing mud and trees from a road.In some northern provinces, rainstorms and hail were destructive. In Beijing's Miyun district, hail as large as 5 centimeters hit cars on Sunday, the city's meteorological service said.On the same day in Baoding, Hebei province, six people were trapped in vehicles under a bridge after heavy rain caused floods. Firefighters rescued people from water as deep as 2 meters, China Central Television reported.Starting on Wednesday, high temperatures of up to 40 C will hit the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Gansu and Anhui provinces, the center said.Heavy downpours that have been battering southern parts of China over the past few days, causing floods and landslides, are forecast to last until June 22, the National Meteorological Center said.The center warned that heavy rain had saturated the soil in the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangdong, along with the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. People in those areas should prepare for floods, landslides and other disasters, it said.After Saturday, the rain will move north and affect the Yangtze River region. Starting on June 22, the rain will subside in southern China, the center said.Since May, rainfall in most parts of southern China increased by 30 to 70 percent compared with the same period last year, the center said. The average precipitation in Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi hit 572 millimeters, the third-largest amount to fall in those areas since 1961.A rainstorm on Tuesday in Sanming, Fujian, flooded houses and crops. Landslides caused the suspension of transportation on some roads. A power blackout on Monday hit an office building, local media reported.A video by China News Service made on Monday in Longyan, Fujian province, showed firefighters transporting an elderly patient to an ambulance on a raft because of floods.Another video made by the news service on Monday in Quannan county, Jiangxi, showed village officials and staff members from emergency response and transportation departments clearing mud and trees from a road.In some northern provinces, rainstorms and hail were destructive. In Beijing's Miyun district, hail as large as 5 centimeters hit cars on Sunday, the city's meteorological service said.On the same day in Baoding, Hebei province, six people were trapped in vehicles under a bridge after heavy rain caused floods. Firefighters rescued people from water as deep as 2 meters, China Central Television reported.Starting on Wednesday, high temperatures of up to 40 C will hit the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Gansu and Anhui provinces, the center said.
