China’s flood response efforts stepped up nationwide

BEIJING - China’s National Meteorological Centre has renewed an orange alert, the second highest in its four-tier warning system, for torrential rain, as consistent downpours swell some major watercourses, resulting in casualties and triggering dike breaches and emergency evacuations.

The centre issued an orange alert on July 24 that has been renewed every day since.

Over a 24-hour period starting at 2pm on July 30, heavy rainfall was expected to engulf vast areas in 11 provincial-level regions, including Hebei and Liaoning provinces, as well as Beijing and Tianjin, it said.

The accumulated precipitation in some areas may reach 100mm to 200mm, the centre said. It also warned of brief but heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gales in some locations, with maximum hourly precipitation of more than 80mm.

Downpours have already wreaked havoc in many regions, with Hunan province in central China bearing the brunt of the devastation.

Due to

heavy rainfall caused by Typhoon Gaemi,

the water level at Lianhuatang hydrological station in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River reached its warning level for flood control – 32.5m – at 6.50pm on July 29, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

It is the third flood in 2024 along Asia’s longest watercourse, it said.

On July 29, the ministry activated a Level III emergency response, the third highest in a four-tier system, for floods in Hunan and a Level IV emergency response for floods in Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces. It sent work teams to Hunan to provide guidance on flood control and relief efforts.

In Xiangtan county, Hunan, three dike breaches occurred along sections of the Juanshui River, which flows into the Xiangjiang River, a major tributary of the Yangtze, after some sections experienced record-breaking floods in the wake of Typhoon Gaemi. One of the breaches was successfully sealed on the afternoon of July 29.

A breach that occurred at around 1.40pm on July 29 in Hekou township is more than 30m wide, and has left many houses and crops inundated.

Mr Liu De An, a 67-year-old villager, was trapped by the rising floodwaters due to his limited mobility.

“I watched the water rise quickly, flooding the first floor of my house,” he said. “I was terrified. Thankfully, the rescuers arrived just in time and saved me.”

Another dike breach took place around 8pm on July 28 in Yisuhe township, with more than 3,800 residents evacuated as at the morning of July 29.

More than 1,200 people, including armed police officers, militia and professional rescuers, have been mobilised for rescue and relief work, assisted by more than 1,000 local officials and Party members, according to the local flood control and drought relief headquarters.

Technology such as drones, Global Positioning System-measuring instruments, radar speed sensors and unmanned hydrological survey boats have been used to provide support for the sealing of the breach and rescue operations.

In Zixing, Hunan, torrential rain associated with Typhoon Gaemi has left four dead and another three missing since a storm hit the city on July 26.

The rain caused communication outages in 78 villages, while power was lost in 112 others. About 87,000 people were affected, Hunan Daily reported. As at 6am on July 29, the city had transferred 11,275 people to safety.

Dandong in North-east China’s Liaoning province was also hit by a heavy deluge. From July 26 to 28, the city, located on the lower reaches of the Yalu River, was lashed by heavy rain, leaving Yalu River Park, which is usually bustling with tourists, submerged under nearly 2m of water.

Dandong has experienced seven episodes of heavy rain in July involving a total of 486.5mm of rainwater, 90 per cent more than the historical average for the period.

By 4pm on July 29, Dandong had relocated more than 28,700 people, according to local authorities.

On July 30, the Ministry of Finance, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, allocated 238 million yuan (S$44.1 million) of central government funds for agricultural disaster prevention and relief to flood-hit areas in Henan, Hunan, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces and Chongqing.

The funds will be used to subsidise crop replanting, restoration of water-damaged agricultural facilities, and measures for drainage and flood control, in a move to help reduce agricultural losses caused by the floods, the Ministry of Finance said. CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK