China braces for more floods as torrential rains lash central and southern areas

China’s national flood control authorities have put in force emergency response measures in preparation for heavy rainfall forecast up to Friday along the Gan, Xiang and Xi rivers in central and southern areas of the country.

It is also the first flood control emergency response launched this summer, with the authorities describing the flood control situation as “grim”.

Torrential rain is expected to hit a vast area of over 1 million sq km, more than one 10th of the country’s territory, in provinces including Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and the Guangxi region, according to the Central Meteorological Administration.

About 460,000 sq km of the area is expected to receive “super torrential rains”, which will worsen the risk of flooding.

The fourth-grade emergency response put in place, the lowest in a four-tiered system, involves 24-hour alerts, daily damage reports and dispatching money and relief materials within 48 hours, state media said.