Provinces along the Yangtze River on alert for further flooding as heavy rains continue across China

The provincial government’s water resources department on Tuesday raised the emergency level to 2, the second highest, as water levels at several hydrological stations approached the flood mark following persistent heavy rains.

The flood level is based on the design of the flood protection infrastructure and historical water level records.

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Xi Jinping calls for comprehensive efforts in light of floods and droughts in parts of China

Xi Jinping calls for comprehensive efforts in light of floods and droughts in parts of China

The Zhejiang provincial government has called on all departments to observe and remain vigilant against three basic principles: the risk of floods overflowing river banks, large-scale and prolonged flooding in urban areas, and a large number of casualties.

As the water level of the Yangtze River rose rapidly, the Three Gorges Dam increased its discharge and the Xinan River Reservoir in Zhejiang Province opened more sluices to release water.

In Zhejiang, more than 16,000 people were evacuated in Jiande, Tonglu County and Fuyang District.

The provinces along the Yangtze River – including Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and Sichuan, as well as the cities of Shanghai and Chongqing – will see persistent, heavy rain on Wednesday and Thursday, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) predicts.

It was also warned that there was a high risk of flash floods, geological disasters, waterlogging in urban and rural areas and flooding of small and medium-sized rivers in these regions on Wednesday.

The middle and lower Yangtze region has entered the annual “plum rain” season, characterized by heavy rainfall, humid weather and high temperatures in June and July. The rain is expected to continue in these areas for at least the next few days.

Chen Tao, chief meteorologist at the National Meteorological Center, told the state-run Xinhua news agency that recent heavy rains often intensified at night, causing heavy rainfall in much of the country.

In addition to eastern and southern China, the floods have also reached the northeast of the country.

On Tuesday, China’s Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters activated a Level 4 emergency response due to flooding in northeastern Heilongjiang province.

Flood levels exceeded warning levels on around 35 rivers across the country, and three rivers had already exceeded the flood mark on Tuesday morning, the Ministry of Water Resources said.

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Among them, 15 rivers in the Ussuri and Songhua basins in northeast China remain above warning levels. The Woken River – a tributary of the Songhua River – reached a record flood level, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday.

Work teams from the Ministries of Water Resources and Disaster Prevention have been dispatched to the Yangtze and Northeast regions to assist local governments in implementing flood control measures.