Floods force thousands to leave homes in eastern China amid heavy rainfall
- Forecasters have warned more heavy rain, thunder and high winds will hit more areas in southern and eastern China in the next few days
- So far more than 300,000 have been affected by flooding in Jiangxi that has hit villages, urban areas and wiped out crops in some areas
More than 10,000 people have been forced to leave their homes as a result of heavy rains that have swept across eastern China since Wednesday.
In total nearly 300,000 people have been affected the flooding in Jiangxi province.
The China Meteorological Administration warned there would also be heavy rain, thunder and high winds across other parts of China, adding there was a risk of flooding and landslides in parts of Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong in the coming days.
Wan Qunzhi, an officer from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, said that this year’s flood season had started relatively early.
“Although precipitation is low overall, its temporal and spatial distribution has been uneven, with floods and droughts happening at the same time. We are not very optimistic about the situation,” Wang told China Central Television.
The flood control headquarters has launched a level-IV emergency response in Jiangxi, the lowest level in a four-tier system.
In Yichun, one of the hardest hit cities, a dyke was breached early on Saturday and flooded four downstream villages, prompting an operation to rescue more than 200 residents.