Chinese megacity Chongqing braces for record flood
- City goes on the highest alert level for the first time as it braces for its biggest wave of water in 40 years
- It is the fifth round of flooding this season and comes just two days after the fourth
For the first time, authorities have issued a level-one flood emergency response, the highest alert in a four-tier scale.
The flood, the fifth on the Yangtze River this year, hit the city on Thursday and arrived at the same time as the second wave from the Jialing River – a tributary that joins the Yangtze in Chongqing – passed through.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Chongqing on Thursday morning to assess conditions, visiting the village of Shuangba in Tongnan district, where flooded fields and houses have affected the livelihood of more than 8,000 people there.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was also in Anhui province in the country’s east on Tuesday. He visited Wangjiaba Dam on the Huai River and other flood-hit areas in Fuyang, according to the State Council.
Several parts of Chongqing, including the historic town of Ciqikou, are already under water. Many shop owners in the town moved their stock to higher floors after being urged to close their businesses from Tuesday.