The photo taken on February 19, 2024 shows shipping vessels on the Beijiang River in Yingde, Guangdong Province. Photo: VCG

China's first serious flood of 2024 has occurred in Beijiang River in the Pearl River Basin, the Ministry of Water Resources said on Sunday. A flood is given a number if it reaches a certain level of severity, so this was named China's No.1 flood of the year. It's also the earliest time in the year that such a flood has occurred since the numbering system began in 1998, the ministry said.

More than 4,600 people in Shaoguan, Yingde and Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province have been evacuated due to heavy rainfall in the Pearl River Basin. The operation of railroads, highways and waterways in some places has been suspended while daily rainfall at many national observatories have broken records for April.

According to China's National Meteorological Center (NMC), Guangdong will have heavy rainfall from Sunday to Monday. On Sunday morning, accumulated rainfall in parts of Guangdong reached 350 to 500 millimeters, and continued heavy rainfall triggered flooding, landslides and other secondary disasters in many places.

Officials have put in place a level IV flood control and flood defense emergency response and sent a working group to assist in guiding the defense against flood damage.

The NMC also warned that the risk of disasters such as landslides is higher in the central and northern regions of Guangdong due to the high cumulative rainfall and the high water content of the soil. Experts said the public should strengthen measures to protect against waterlogging and landslides.

Global Times