China activates emergency response as torrential rains pummel Beijing, Hebei

BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities on Monday activated a Level-IV emergency response for disaster relief in Beijing and Hebei as torrential rains lashed the regions, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

The China National Commission for Disaster Reduction also sent work teams to guide and assist local governments in disaster relief and rescue efforts and ensure basic living needs of disaster-affected residents.

Authorities have augmented earlier central relief shipments with an additional 43,000 items, including folding beds, blankets, quilts and emergency lighting. A further 2,000 family emergency kits, together with food, bottled water, mother-and-baby supplies and hygiene packs, have also been dispatched to the affected areas to bolster evacuations and relief efforts.

Days of downpours have triggered severe flooding in Miyun and Huairou districts of Beijing, as well as in Hebei's Chengde and Zhangjiakou cities.

China has a four-level emergency response system for disaster relief, with Level IV being the lowest level and Level I the highest.