Water level rising in Chinese rivers, further flooding expected

Thursday, June 19, 2008 

Water levels rising in Shenzhen
Image: Chase Chesser.

Further rain has continued to fall across southern China after the country was devastated by floods earlier this week.

The Chinese provinces hit by the flooding are highlighted in red on the above map
Image: Anonymous101, Ran and PhiLiP.

176 people have been confirmed to have died as a result of the flooding, and around 50 more are officially missing. Xinhua, the state news agency in China, has reported that the flooding in the Pearl River Delta was the worst in the area for over fifty years.

The Chinese government says it evacuated 111,476 in the Sichuan Province. In Wenchuan County, 72,000 were relocated. Over the past week some 1.3 million people have reportedly fled their homes.

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) issued a warning on the situation before the first wave of flooding. "Faced with the increasingly severe rain and flood situation, at 16 o’clock of June 12, Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters of Guangxi urgently started level 2 flood control emergency response and required the relevant departments and places to prepare immediately so as to ensure the work of flood control and drought relief," the CMA said in a statement released late last week.

Sources

• "China completes massive evacuation from quake center" — Xinhua, June 19, 2008
• "China: Rising waters look threatening" — Independent Online (South Africa), June 19, 2008
• "China Floods Kill 171, More Rain Expected" — Voice of America, June 17, 2008
• "Flood Control Emergency Response of Guangxi Has Been Level 2" — China Meteorological Association, June 15, 2008