国内英语新闻:China to battle storms following heat wave

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Local authorities in central and southwest China were put on alert Thursday to fight heavy storms and floods -- termed to be the worst in a decade in some regions -- just as days-long heat wave that had scorched large areas across the country ended.

The National Meteorological Center Thursday evening raised the storm alert to "orange", one step below the highest rating on a four-color scale.

It said heavy rains had started to pound central Hubei and Anhui provinces since Thursday and heavy rainfall was predicted in at least ten provinces and region in central and southwest China in the next 24 hours.

Three girls play at a fountain to enjoy coolness at the Tianjin University in north China's Tianjin Municipality, July 5, 2010. The local meteorologic authority has issued an orange alarm against high temperature.

In Hubei, one person was killed after floods hit three counties and a city in the province' s north, affecting 500,000 residents and submerging parts of the areas in one-meter deep water, provincial disaster relief authorities said.

More than 27,370 hectares of farmland were flooded, 242 houses collapsed and at least 10,157 residents were evacuated from flooded homes, the disaster relief office of Hubei Provincial Civil Affairs Bureau said.