Heavy rain, along with thunderstorms and strong winds, was expected to affect southern China over the next three days, said the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on Wednesday.

Torrential rain, accompanied by thunderstorms, was forecast to sweep regions south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and areas such as southwest Guizhou, south Guangdong and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous region.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms hit the middle and eastern part of China during the May Day holiday last week, killing three people in Hubei Province and giving Beijing its most severe thunderstorm this year.

The CMA urged meteorological departments at all levels to increase monitoring and the accuracy of weather forecasts for major rivers, as the flood threat was intensifying since the onset of the summer rainy season in the south since May Day.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2008)