China's Hebei restores power, roads after heavy rains

SHIJIAZHUANG -- Following days of continuous heavy rainfall in northern China's Hebei province, power and road infrastructure in affected areas is gradually being restored, while local authorities brace for further downpours with renewed emergency alerts.

As of 9 am on Saturday, power had been restored to all the villages that had been impacted by the recent heavy rain in Chengde city of Hebei, according to the State Grid Jibei Electric Power Co Ltd.

Following the floods, 159 emergency repair teams and nearly 1,000 personnel were mobilized. Emergency power vehicles were deployed at hospitals, water plants, and telecom base stations to ensure uninterrupted electricity.

To date, 145 power lines and 562 villages have been reconnected to the grid. However, seven lines and several branches remain inaccessible due to road damage, impacting 45 villages. Temporary power has been restored in these areas using mobile power units and generators. Repair crews are currently focused on installing poles and finalizing wiring to fully restore power.

The road infrastructure has also undergone recovery, with a total of 961 damaged road sections now reopened. Apart from one highway and four village roads in Chengde, all flood-damaged roads have been cleared, according to the provincial department of transportation.

Four technical advisory teams have been sent to Chengde, Zhangjiakou, and Baoding to guide the reconstruction plans. Meanwhile, relevant agencies have cleared 1,432 landslides and managed 1,159 mudslides.

Hebei activated a Level IV emergency response for major meteorological disasters (rainstorms) at 4 pm on Saturday, urging all areas to assess risks and prepare accordingly.

The provincial weather service issued a blue alert for heavy rain from the evening of Saturday to the morning of Sunday, with up to 100 mm expected in parts of Zhangjiakou, Chengde, Tangshan, and Qinhuangdao.

Mountain flood warnings were issued for parts of Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, and Chengde. A yellow alert for geological disasters, including landslides and mudslides, was also issued for areas in Baoding, Zhangjiakou, Chengde, and Tangshan.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue, as well as a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe response.