Record-breaking rainfalls hit NW China

Torrential rains have battered Yumen, a city in northwest China's Gansu province, from early Tuesday morning, halting traffic and flooding farmlands.

The severe downpours have resulted in the highest precipitation on record since 1952, when the local meteorological station was set up, according to the Yumen meteorological station.

As of noon Tuesday, rains were continuing to hit Yumen and the nearby cities of Dunhuang and Guazhou, with roads caved in, traffic stopped and houses destroyed.