BEIJING – Major rivers, waterways and reservoirs in China’s Guangdong province are threatening to cause dangerous flooding, forcing the government on Sunday to enact emergency response plans to protect more than 127 million people.
Local meteorological authorities called the situation “severe” and water levels were rising in some rivers and tributaries in the Nishiegawa and Kitae river basins, with only a 1 in 50 chance a year, state broadcaster said. I told you. CCTV News reported on Sunday.
China’s Ministry of Water Resources has issued an emergency advisory, CCTV reported.
Guangdong provincial officials have launched emergency plans for all local government departments to avert natural disasters and provide disaster relief funds and supplies to ensure victims have food, clothing, water and a place to stay. He asked for prompt distribution.
The province, a major exporter and one of China’s major commercial and trade centers, has experienced several days of heavy rain and strong winds, with the weather pattern also affecting other parts of China. giving.
Heavy rain that lasted for 12 hours starting at 8pm on Saturday hit the central and northern regions of the province, including Zhaoqing, Shaoguan, Qingyuan and Jiangmen, where rescue teams have been dispatched.
More than 45,000 people have been evacuated in Qingyuan, state media said, and some power facilities in Zhaoqing were damaged, causing power outages in some areas.
According to state media, 1.16 million households across Guangdong province were left without power due to heavy rains.
According to China State Radio, about 1,103 schools in Zhaoqing, Shaoguan and Qingyuan cities will cancel classes on Monday.
water town
“Look at Huaiji County, Zhaoqing City, which has become a water town. The elderly and children in the countryside don’t know what to do with power outages and no traffic lights,” said a user on the popular social media site Weibo. one of them said.
According to a video published by Hongxing News, intense floodwaters swept away one vehicle on a narrow street in Zhaoqing city.
Another Weibo user said, “Last night, it rained like a waterfall for an hour and a half on the highway home.” “I couldn’t see the road at all.”
Authorities in Qingyuan and Shaoguan also suspended shipping in some rivers, and maritime authorities sent troops on duty to coordinate emergency tugboats and emergency rescue vessels.
Reservoirs in the provincial capital Guangzhou, a city of 18 million people, have reached their flood limit, city authorities said Sunday, as meteorological officials warned that many hydrological stations in the province were overflowing.
According to the data, there are 2,609 hydrological stations with daily rainfall greater than 1.97 inches, which accounts for about 59% of all stations. At 8 a.m. Sunday, 27 hydrological observatories in Guangdong province were put on alert.
In neighboring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the west of Guangdong province, hurricane-force winds battered the region, destroying buildings, video footage from state media showed. According to CCTV, there was hail and heavy flooding in some places.
In another video, rescue workers were seen trying to save an elderly man clinging to a tree half submerged in floodwaters.
According to state media, 65 landslides were recorded as of 10 a.m. in Hezhou, Guangxi.
Forecasters forecast heavy rain in Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces into Monday.
