China set to face more heavy rain, floods, meteorological office says
- Torrential downpours and hurricane-force winds forecast across large parts of the country
- Water levels of 93 rivers still above warning levels, government says
Parts of the east coast, including the Bohai Bay region, and the provinces of Shandong and Jiangsu are also set to face hurricane-force winds, the China Meteorological Administration said.
The port cities of Qingdao and Rizhao in Shandong were the latest to see record-breaking daily rainfall on Wednesday, while the provinces of Jiangxi and Anhui on the Yangtze River issued new red alerts early on Thursday.
The Ministry of Water Resources said 93 rivers remained above warning levels, adding that the Three Gorges reservoir, China’s biggest, would need to be closely monitored as incoming floodwaters surged.
“The current flood control situation remains severe and cannot be relaxed in any way,” it said.
Regions throughout China have been ordering emergency evacuations as a result of landslides, burst riverbanks and mountain floods.
China has vowed to take a scientific approach to controlling floods and has made use of early warning systems as well as its dams and reservoirs to try to minimise the damage.