Rainfall in South China's Hainan Province. Photo: VCG

China's State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters launched a Level IV emergency response for South China's Hainan Province on Saturday evening as a tropical low-pressure system in the South China Sea moves toward coastal Vietnam, threatening southern China with torrential downpours and high disaster risks.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) reported Sunday morning that the tropical low was located roughly 225 kilometers southwest of Sanya, Hainan. Moving west at 10-15 kilometers per hour, the system is projected to make landfall along the central coast of Vietnam between Sunday afternoon and Sunday night before gradually weakening.

Despite tracking away from the island, the system's expansive rainbands continue to dump heavy rainfall across southern China. 

Forecasters warned of high risks for mountain torrents, geological hazards, small and medium river flooding, and severe urban waterlogging across Hainan, coastal Guangdong, and coastal Guangxi over the next three days.

The most intense precipitation will hit southern Hainan, where isolated areas face potential torrential rainstorms, according to the NMC. 

The weather impacts are also extending across neighboring regions and inland provinces.

The meteorological observatory in Guangdong's capital city Guangzhou forecasts that the city will experience moderate thunderstorm activity with localized heavy rain or torrential downpours from Sunday to Monday, with wind gusts reaching forces 6 to 7 in coastal port areas and high elevations. Thundershowers will persist in Guangzhou from September Tuesday to Wednesday. 

Over the next three days, light to moderate rain is expected in parts of Sichuan, Chongqing, south-central Gansu, southern Shaanxi, eastern and southern Qinghai, and Xizang. Parts of the eastern Sichuan Basin and other areas will experience heavy rain, with localized torrential downpours, per NMC. 

In response, local authorities in Hainan have issued red alerts for heavy rain and initiated emergency safety measures.

Following a rainstorm red warning issued Saturday morning, education authorities in Wanning, Hainan ordered all off-campus training institutions to suspend offline operations on Sunday. Primary schools, secondary schools, and kindergartens across Wanning will close on Monday.

In Hainan's Lingshui Li autonomous county, local meteorologists upgraded their rainstorm warning to red on Saturday afternoon, prompting the county education bureau to suspend all offline tutoring and training activities on Sunday.

Local authorities across affected zones have deployed 24-hour emergency watches, increased campus hazard inspections, and warned residents to stay clear of flooded streets and unstable slopes as the storm system passes.

For affecting areas in Sichuan, the meteorological observatory from Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture issued a blue rainstorm warning on Saturday. Relevant authorities and departments were requested to step up precautions against geological hazards such as mountain torrents, mudslides, collapses, and landslides. 

Global Times