GUANGZHOU, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Heavy rain battered multiple parts of south China's Guangdong Province from Thursday to Friday, prompting flood-control emergency responses and causing waterlogging in some urban areas.
Meteorological authorities said Duanfen Township in Jiangmen City logged 310.5 mm of rainfall, the highest in the province during the latest round of storms.
At noon on Friday, dark clouds gathered rapidly over downtown Guangzhou, the provincial capital, as intense rain lashed the city, temporarily flooding some roads.
According to the Guangzhou Water Authority, the Renmin Park observation station in Yuexiu District recorded 117.6 mm of hourly rainfall at 2 p.m., the highest hourly rainfall ever recorded at the station.
"That is roughly equivalent to the amount of rain the area might normally receive over one or even two days," an official said.
By 8 p.m. Friday, the agency had dispatched 1,722 emergency response personnel to deal with waterlogging.
Guangdong's meteorological observatory forecast more rainfall from Friday night through Sunday in western Guangdong, the Pearl River Delta and coastal areas in eastern Guangdong.
Hydrological authorities have warned that some small and medium-sized rivers could see water levels rise by 2 to 6 meters.
Li Zhihui, chief forecaster at the provincial climate center, advised residents to reduce outdoor activities during periods of heavy rainfall and stay away from hillsides, riverbanks and flood-prone low-lying areas.
China's national observatory on Friday renewed blue alerts for rainstorms and severe convective weather, with heavy downpours expected to lash parts of the country's northwest, southwest and south.
Some areas in Sichuan basin and coastal Guangdong will see torrential rain of up to 180 mm, according to the National Meteorological Center. ■
