Floodwaters rise in China's north-east as rains lash Heilongjiang province

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TOPSHOT - Local residents clean up the street in the aftermath of the flooding at a village following heavy rains in Beijing on August 3, 2023. Swathes of northern China were submerged in filthy floodwater on Wednesday after days of historic rainfall battered the capital city of Beijing and surrounding areas. (Photo by Jade Gao / AFP)

Local residents cleaning up the street in the aftermath of flooding at a village following heavy rains in Beijing on Aug 3, 2023.

PHOTO: AFP

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residual rain from a typhoon

drifted to north-east China, Heilongjiang province on Friday warned of swelling rivers amid severe weather and even tornadoes as storms pounded cities, including the already waterlogged provincial capital, Harbin.

Grain-producing Heilongjiang is the latest place hit by Doksuri, which has caused deaths, displaced thousands and put China’s disaster-response systems to the test after swamping Beijing and nearby cities since making landfall in the south a week earlier.

Heilongjiang was forecast on Friday to experience strong convective weather, including short-term heavy precipitation, thunderstorms and strong winds, as well as localised torrential downpours in northern Qiqihar.

Heavy rains were forecast for western Jixi and southern Mudanjiang, while the northern part of the Hei river, northern Suihua, southern Harbin, the Qitai River, and eastern Jixi could see moderate rains.

Heilongjiang, also home to China’s oldest and biggest oilfield in Daqing, said cumulative rainfall in some townships could exceed 100mm within hours amid continuous rain.

The province also flagged “very high” risks of secondary disasters such as mountain torrents, urban and rural waterlogging, and farmland waterlogging.

Small and medium-sized rivers in the southern and western areas were flooded from earlier rains and could remain so, it said.

The Yalu River straddling Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia may rise above warning levels by Friday night, state media reported.

Other parts of north-east China, including Inner Mongolia, parts of Jilin province, and central and eastern areas of Liaoning province will see heavy rainfall, China’s national forecaster said. REUTERS

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