BEIJING, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The latest heavy rains have hit coastal and southern China since Wednesday, bringing widespread downpours and severe convective weather, including thunderstorms, short-term heavy precipitation and gales.
Local governments have implemented swift measures to safeguard urban operations and public safety.
In central China's Hubei Province, rainfall intensified from Wednesday night to Thursday, prompting the provincial meteorological bureau to activate an emergency response.
Over the last two days, eastern parts of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China experienced moderate to heavy rains, with some areas reporting torrential rainfall exceeding 100 millimeters.
To address the dual challenges of drought and flooding, Guangxi has stockpiled more than 7.9 million emergency supplies and equipped disaster-prone regions with over 4,900 satellite phones and navigation devices.
The region has also mobilized 22,000 emergency responders, as well as 16,000 community-based teams totaling 320,000 members.
In central China's Hunan Province, heavy rainfall has disrupted rail services, prompting the suspension or rerouting of some trains for passenger safety.
Meanwhile, Jiangxi Province in east China has deployed over 2,500 monitoring devices and 300 drones for the remote inspection of power infrastructure.
China's central meteorological observatory renewed a yellow alert for rainstorms at 6 p.m. on Thursday, forecasting heavy to torrential rains across multiple provinces, with risks of lightning, hail and strong winds. Authorities have urged the public to stay updated on weather warnings, and to exercise caution during travel and outdoor activities. ■
