Photos: IC

As heavy rainfalls hit Beijing, China's capital is under a red alert for rainstorms on Sunday, with the city maintaining its highest emergency response for flooding and encouraging its residents to work from home, according to local authorities.

Beijing Meteorological Service issued a red alert, the country's highest alert level for rainstorms, at 5: 30 pm on Saturday. It said from Saturday night to Tuesday night, the city will be lashed by heavy downpours with its western and southern areas hit by extraordinary rainstorms.

The city's flood control headquarter issued a Level I emergency response on 7 pm on Saturday and demanded all scenic spots and parks in Beijing should be closed down to avoid any incident.

China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with Level I being the most urgent response.

Neighboring Hebei province renewed its red alert for rainstorms at around 8 am on Sunday. According to the province's meteorological service, several cities including Shijiazhuang, Langfang and Baoding will see extraordinary rainstorms from Sunday to Monday, as the accumulated precipitation in some places could top 600 millimeters.

Apart from Beijing municipality and Hebei province, other places in the country including Tianjin, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Yunnan are also forecast to be hit by heavy downpours and rainstorms from 8 pm on Saturday to 8 pm on Sunday, according to China's National Meteorological Center.

The center issued a red alert for rainstorms on Saturday evening, as heavy downpours are expected to lash multiple regions.