Mainland authorities have issued a Level-IV emergency response to flooding in several southwestern provinces, and heavy rainfall is expected to continue in some places until Saturday, state media reports.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Water Resources dispatched teams to Hunan, Hubei and Anhui provinces to assist with flood prevention and relief efforts. Other impacted provinces included Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan, Guangxi, Chongqing and Guizhou.
This followed a Level-I emergency response – the most extreme in China’s four-tier flood-control emergency response system – being issued in Huaiji county, in Guangdong Province, on Tuesday evening. The county experienced a once-in-a-century flood on Wednesday, with water levels at the Zhaoqing hydrometric station surpassing the warning level (50 metres) by more than 5 metres.
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The “severe disaster” caused damage across the county, according to the Global Times. About 70,000 residents had been evacuated by noon that day, while schools and businesses were closed.
Wednesday also saw the National Development and Reform Commission allocate 60 million yuan to bolstering flood relief efforts, including the restoration of infrastructure and public services, in impacted parts of Guangdong.
Typhoon Wutip brought torrential rain to Huaiji county from 14 June, though its intensity wavered between then and Tuesday – when water levels of the Suijiang River and its tributaries began to rise rapidly. Wutip also saw the raising of the first typhoon signals of the year in Macao and Hong Kong.
