Heavy rains and floods cause emergencies across China
Heavy rains and floods have caused emergencies across China. When the heavens unleash a month's worth of rainfall in just a few hours, even the most prepared cities find themselves pushed to their limits. Rivers overflow their banks, bridges collapse, and people flee their homes to escape the rapidly rising waters. This summer, the elements are putting to the test not only infrastructure but also the emergency response system: from northeastern provinces to southwestern metropolises, authorities are declaring states of emergency, evacuating thousands of residents and reinforcing levees. Nature reminds us that climate change is not an abstraction but a reality to be dealt with here and now.
In Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province in the northeast, severe convective weather struck on Saturday evening, with maximum hourly rainfall reaching 32.2 millimetres, causing flooding in some urban areas. The provincial meteorological bureau expected thunderstorms and strong winds in some areas and, together with the provincial department of housing and urban-rural development, issued a yellow alert for heavy rain and flooding. The two departments of Jilin Province also issued a flash flood warning. Since Wangqing County was hit by floods two days ago and the risk of another round of flash floods is high, the county raised its emergency response level from IV to III, evacuating 8,375 people from high-risk areas in 93 villages across eight townships and reinforcing vulnerable spots with sandbags and gravel.
In Hailin City in Heilongjiang Province in northeast China, which has been hit by torrential rains for days, residents were evacuated from low-lying areas. The continuing rains caused the water level of the Wuhulin River to rise rapidly, leading to the collapse of a bridge's conical slope. Local workers filled the resulting cavity with stones to eliminate potential safety threats to the bridge. In Longnan City in Gansu Province in northwest China, this rainy period has dragged on, accompanied by short-term heavy downpours and large cumulative water volumes, creating an extremely high risk of secondary disasters. In Kangxian County of that city, as of 16:00 on Saturday, 6,127 residents had been evacuated to 54 shelters. In Chongqing in southwest China, an orange alert was issued on Saturday due to heavy rains that hit the Yuzhong and Dazu districts as well as the Liangjiang New Area. The local meteorological bureau raised the heavy rain alert to orange and activated a Level 4 flood emergency response. Soon after the heavy rains caused flooding on many roads, the city began draining water and clearing waterlogged sections.
The rainy period is expected to last until Tuesday, with rainfall in some areas reaching 150–200 millimetres. China operates a four-tier colour-coded weather warning system, with red indicating the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue, as well as a four-tier geological disaster response system, where Level 1 is the most severe. Local authorities have stepped up round‑the‑clock monitoring at hydrological stations, and rescue services have been placed on heightened alert. Special attention is being given to protecting farmland and energy facilities, which have suffered from similar disasters in past years.
As CCTV+ reports, temporary shelters have been set up in the disaster zones, field kitchens are operating and medical assistance is being provided, with additional humanitarian supplies sent from central reserves to the affected regions.
