Heavy rainstorms lash China

Beijing, Aug 23 (IANS) Heavy rainstorms have lashed China's Chongqing Municipality and Guizhou province since Sunday, said local authorities on Monday.From 8 a.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday, rainstorms hit 26 districts and counties in Chongqing with precipitation up to 188 mm, said Chongqing hydrological monitoring station.The water levels in 33 local rivers rose by one to four meters, Xinhua news agency quoted the station as saying.A total of seven counties in Guizhou province experienced rainstorms with precipitation up to 145.5 mm from 7 a.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday, according to Guizhou meteorological bureau.The bureau launched a level-IV emergency response to rainstorms and issued an alert for flash floods with the provincial water resources department.Meanwhile, the flood control and drought relief headquarters of Chongqing also issued warning and launched an emergency response to the floods, since rainstorms were forecast to continue in the municipality from Monday to Tuesday.
--IANS ksk/