Authorities in central and southern China remain on high alert for potential flash floods as the monsoon season intensifies, bringing with it relentless rainstorms that threaten to disrupt normal life and economic activity.
Emergency red warnings — the first issued this year — were activated late Thursday across several regions including Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, and Guangxi, according to reports from national agencies overseeing water and weather conditions.
Scientists have linked the worsening downpours and floods to climate change, raising concerns for Chinese leaders who face the difficult task of managing outdated flood control systems. The ongoing threat not only displaces large populations but also risks significant damage to the nation’s $2.8 trillion farming industry.
This year’s rainy season arrived sooner than expected, beginning in early June. It is typically followed by blistering heat waves that dry out already soaked fields, drain reservoirs, and cause lasting harm to roadways and essential infrastructure.
In July last year alone, economic losses from weather-related disasters surpassed $10 billion. Even greater damage occurred in 2020, when unusually long rainfall battered the country for more than 60 consecutive days — nearly a month longer than normal.
In southern Hunan on Thursday, torrential rain swelled the Lishui River, pushing water levels over two meters above safe limits. This resulted in the most severe flooding seen in both the upper and lower river regions since 1998.
Footage shared online displayed floodwaters overflowing onto highways, sweeping debris through streets as the swollen river burst its banks.
Further southwest, in the mountainous city of Chongqing, homes were submerged under murky floodwaters. Cars were carried away by strong currents racing through the city, with water levels reportedly nearing the tops of electrical poles.
Rescue teams helped relocate nearly 300 residents from villages and towns in a mountainous area of Chongqing, where daily rainfall reached a staggering 304 millimetres (12 inches). At least one river in the region swelled by 19 metres after runoff from the surrounding hills converged into its stream.
In Guangdong’s Zhaoqing city on Wednesday, floodwaters surged over five metres past warning thresholds, cutting off electricity supplies and surpassing previous records for high water levels.
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