ULAN BATOR, July 20 (Xinhua) -- A total of 75 soums (administrative subdivisions) in eight provinces of Mongolia suffered a power blackout on Thursday evening.

Mongolian National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said in a statement on Friday that a 145 KV power line suffered a failure due to the strong winds and downpours across the country.

In particular, the power blackout hit each four soums of Arkhangai in central-west, Bayankhongor in the southwest, and Uvurkhangai and Tuv in the central.

Operations were underway to restore electricity, the NEMA said, adding that currently the power has been resumed in 12 soums.

According to the NEMA, a total of more than 100 km of roads have been damaged following massive flooding caused by heavy rains in some areas of the country since the beginning of July.

The meteorological institute warned that water levels in major rivers in the western, northern and central parts of the country had risen to dangerous levels.

Meteorologists forecast heavy rains would remain active across large part of the country until the end of this month, urging citizens living nearby to take extra precautions against expected disasters.