Beijing issues blue alert for rainstorms

BEIJING -- Beijing's meteorological service on Thursday issued a blue alert for rainstorms, forecasting widespread heavy rainfall across the city.

The weather service predicts moderate to heavy rain from Friday morning until midnight, with suburban districts including Yanqing, Huairou, Miyun and Pinggu expecting particularly intense conditions. These areas may experience hourly rainfall exceeding 30 millimeters, with some locations potentially accumulating over 100 millimeters within 24 hours.

The Beijing water authority and meteorological service jointly issued mountain flood warnings at 8 p.m. Thursday, identifying Miyun District as high-risk starting 6 a.m. Friday, with other mountainous districts also facing potential flooding.

The authorities also issued a blue alert for urban waterlogging, with districts such as Haidian, Chaoyang, Shijingshan and Fengtai facing risks.

Neighboring Hebei Province initiated a Level-III emergency response to rainstorms -- the third-highest in China's four-tier emergency response system -- at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

The provincial meteorological service had earlier issued a yellow alert for rainstorms at 5:54 p.m. Thursday, predicting heavy to torrential rains from Friday morning through the night, with localized accumulations potentially surpassing 220 millimeters.

China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.