A taxi sinks in the flood caused by the heavy rain in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Jun 26, 2022. Photo: Snapshot from a video clip of the Chongqing Broadcasting Group

Several cities have suffered severe floods caused by torrential rainfall which started on Sunday, with more heavy rain forecast in the next few days. Affected areas include Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and Qingdao in East China's Shandong Province. 

According to China's National Meteorological Center, heavy rain will last until 8 pm Tuesday across 13 areas, including Southwest China's Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces, North China's Inner Mongolia, Northeast China's Liaoning and Jilin, East China's Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui, and Central China's Henan, Hubei and Hunan.

Some of these areas can expect rainfall of up to 100-160 millimeters, as well as short-term heavy precipitation with hourly rainfall of 30-70 millimeters. Some areas will experience thunderstorm winds of magnitude 8-10 as well as hail, which may exceed magnitude 12 in certain areas.

Multiple low-lying areas in Chongqing are flooded across its 39 districts and counties with maximum rainfall reaching 213.5 mm. 

A total of 74 precipitation stations across Chongqing's 13 districts have monitored torrential rain as of Sunday. In a video clip that went viral, a half-submerged taxi was swept along as floods poured into a garage in a residential compound in the city's Jiangjin district. According to Chongqing Meteorological Service, 22 districts and counties will see heavy rainfall on Monday.

The port city of Qingdao in Shandong Province suffered floods after rainfall of up to 200 millimeters over the weekend. Firefighters pumped water from waterlogged residential compounds and agricultural greenhouses.

The downpour has affected more than 60,000 people in Sichuan, where more than 42,000 people have already been evacuated as of 7 am Monday.

In response to the torrential rain, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters launched a level-IV emergency response on Sunday for some cities, and ordered the implementation of measures against heavy rain.

Global Times