China on yellow alert for rainstorms

BEIJING -?China's national weather observatory issued a yellow alert for rainstorms on Monday as heavy rain is expected in most of southern China over the next 24 hours.

From Monday to Tuesday, torrential rain is expected in parts of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Yunnan, and Sichuan provinces as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Tibet Autonomous Region, according to the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

Some regions will receive up to 200 millimeters of precipitation, the NMC said.

The NMC also canceled former yellow alert for Typhoon Mawar Monday.

Mawar, the 16th typhoon this year, landed around 9:30 p.m. Sunday in Lufeng of Shanwei city in Guangdong, bringing gales of 20 meters per second at its eye, according to local meteorological authorities.

Heavy rain battered the landing areas. Local government said about 2,200 fishing boats had returned to the harbor while more than 15,000 people were relocated to safe places. Flights and trains were suspended.

Mawar is the third typhoon that landed in Guangdong in the recent half month after Hato and Pakhar.

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