The photo shows flood water released from a dam in Qingyuan City, Guangdong Province, southern China on April 22 – Photo: AFP
On April 23, Shenzhen, a large city located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary in Guangdong province, raised the orange rainstorm warning to red (the highest level).
The government urged: “Quickly take preventive measures and stay away from dangerous areas such as low-lying areas prone to flooding.”
Efforts to minimize the impact
Shenzhen is among the regions experiencing “heavy to very heavy rain”.
Earlier this week, flood-affected areas in southern China called for all measures to minimize the impact of natural disasters, including evacuating people, increasing monitoring frequency and issuing warnings. Early warning to protect people’s lives and property and prevent disasters such as landslides.
Flooding in China, the government raised the storm warning to the highest level
The China Meteorological Administration has issued a yellow warning for rainstorms and a green warning for severe weather.
The bureau forecasts that there will be heavy rain, thunderstorms, strong winds and hail in many areas across the country, including areas of Guangdong province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region from April 22 to 23. .
China has a four-level weather warning system, in which red is the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and green.
According to Xinhua News Agency on April 22, floods in Guangdong – a province with 127 million people – killed at least 4 people, including a rescue worker. Additionally, 10 people are still missing and about 110,000 people have been evacuated.
From April 19 to 21, heavy rain partly affected the operations of the Beijing – Guangzhou and Beijing – Kowloon railways, causing 305 trains to be canceled or had to turn back.
Aerial footage broadcast by China Central Television (CCTV) over the weekend showed villages submerged in floodwaters, with only roofs and treetops visible in some places.
China’s National Flood and Drought Prevention Command and the Ministry of Emergency Management continue to coordinate and carry out flood control and relief work in key areas in the south and other regions to cope with other heavy rains.
China’s Ministry of Water Resources quickly implemented a flood prevention plan in the Pearl River basin. The government raised the emergency response level to control floods for the Pearl River Delta to level 2 in the four-level system over the weekend.
About 15,000 relief items, including 6,000 folding beds, 6,000 towels and other necessities, were sent to Guangdong province earlier this week.
Climate crisis
Since April 16, persistent torrential rains have hit the Pearl River Delta, China’s manufacturing hub and one of the country’s most populous regions. Four weather stations in Guangdong recorded record rainfall in April.
According to Guangzhou Daily and Nam Phuong Daily, rainfall since early April has broken records in the cities of Guangzhou, Shaoguan, Lechang and some districts.
Heavy rains are forecast to continue in Guangdong this week, with rainfall ranging from 100 to 170mm in 24 hours in some areas from the afternoon of April 22.
The Pearl River basin experiences flooding from April to September every year, but the region has faced fierce rainstorms and more serious flooding in recent years as scientists warn of a crisis. Climate change will make extreme weather more deadly and more frequent, according to CNN.
Mr. Doan Zhijie, head of the hydrological forecasting department at the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, explained in Thepaper.cn newspaper: “Regarding the situation of flood control in recent years, global warming and the Temperature increases are increasing, while extremely heavy rainfall occurs every year, leading to intense floods.”
Last year, China faced “more intense and extreme” downpours during the flood season than in previous years, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
72 national weather stations recorded record high daily rainfall and 346 stations broke monthly records. CCTV reported that since last week, water levels in at least 44 rivers in the Pearl River basin have risen above warning levels, at risk of bursting their banks.
In the Bac Giang River area, the river flowing into Chau Giang, authorities have warned of the risk of a “once in a century” flood.
According to the Guangdong government, this branch of the river broke its banks on April 8, marking the earliest annual flood season since data began being recorded in 1998. The Guangdong government emphasized the need to strengthen monitoring, forecasting and early warning system.
Economic damage
Heavy rain in recent days has affected many cities in Guangdong. According to Xinhua News Agency on April 22, up to now 53,741 people have been evacuated across the province, 36 houses collapsed, 48 houses were seriously damaged, with direct economic losses of nearly 140.6 million yuan ( about 19.8 million USD).
Meanwhile, about 99,000 people in Guangxi were affected by heavy rain, with 600 people having to evacuate for safety.
According to local authorities, the affected crop area is 3,788 hectares, causing direct economic losses of 284.5 million yuan (39.2 million USD), according to the Global Times on April 22.
