China Floods – Death Toll Rises, Military Carry Out Flood Control and Relief Efforts

The flooding in areas along the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers in China continues, as officials report that 140 people have died and 41 are missing since the severe weather began on 30 June 2016. Some areas have seen more than 60cm of rain fall in one week.

At the request of China’s President, Xi Jinping, more military and police personnel are to be deployed to support flood control and disaster relief efforts.

Between 05 and 06 July, Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, visited areas devastated by the ongoing floods, including Fuyang in Anhui province, Yueyang in Hunan province and Wuhan in Hubei province to inspect flood control and rescue and relief work in areas along the Yangtze River and Huaihe River.

The rainfall in Wuhan city has exceeded 600 mm in one week, leading to the rapid rise of water levels of the Yangtze River and Han River, a tributary of the Yangtze, both of which are above warning levels.

Premier Li Keqiang said that the country should prepare for an arduous campaign against floods as July-August is “a key period for flood control”.

There is a fear that if the rain continues, China could be facing a flood disaster on a similar scale to that of 1998, which lasted from June to August and caused major devastation. Around 4,000 people died and over 13 million homes were damaged or destroyed.

Thousands of Homes Destroyed

Heavy rain and storms since 30 June have caused flooding and landslides in 11 provinces of the country, affecting Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan, according to China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA).

The death toll of 128, as reported on 04 July, has risen over the last few days. Since 30 June, the severe weather has now left 140 people dead, with 41 still missing, according to MCA figures.

MCA add that the heavy rain, landslides and flooding have led to the collapse of 49,000 houses and forced the evacuation of more than 1.62 million people. Nearly 760,000 people are in urgent need of basic living assistance.

Forecast

Chinese Meteorological Administration (CMA) say that in the following three days, the band of rain currently over the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River is expected to move north and gradually reach the Sichuan Basin and Northwest China. As a result, the Sichuan Basin will be exposed to continuous rains and the accumulated rainfall could be 100~300 mm. This figure could jump to more than 400 mm in portions of Northwest China.

Tropical Cyclone Nepartak

According to ECHO, Tropical Cyclone Nepartak, continued its north-western motion over the Philippine Sea, maintaining its intensity. On 07 July at 0.00 UTC its centre was located approx. 360 km south-east of Taitung province (Taiwan) and 260 km north-east of Itbayat island (Batanes province, Philippines) and it had maximum sustained wind speed of 278 km/h (equivalent to a Category 5 in the Saffir-Simpson scale).

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