Rescuers transfer flood-trapped residents in Wanzhou District, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, July 4, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

Since the start of this year's flood season, China's major rivers have experienced 25 significant flood events, the highest number recorded since data collection began in 1998. The period has been marked by frequent extreme weather events, with heavy rainfall and severe floods occurring across both northern and southern regions, officials with the Ministry of Water Resources said at a press conference on Monday detailing the grave challenges that China is facing.

Despite the end of the most critical period, Wang Bao'en, Vice Minister of Water Resources, warned that China remains in its primary flood season, with significant challenges ahead. 

Wang detailed that this year's flood season has been marked by higher-than-usual cumulative rainfall influenced by Typhoon Gaemi. The country saw a cumulative average rainfall of 183 millimeters, 10 percent higher than the annual average. Typhoon Gaemi dumped a total of 216.7 billion cubic meters of rainfall across the southern regions of the country, which is a significant 43 percent more than the 151.8 billion cubic meters brought by Typhoon Doksuri last year.

Large-scale flooding occurred more frequently than annual average, with some 30 rivers across the country exceeding historical flood levels. Major floods were recorded 13 times in river basins including tributaries of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, and Pearl River.

Overall, rivers exceeding warning levels were up 120 percent over the same period in previous years, with some exceeding flood control guarantee levels by nearly 60 percent, Wang said.

This year's flood season has seen an increase in the frequency of disasters, including the breaching of embankments in Yueyang, Central China's Hunan Province, the collapse of highway bridge in Shangluo, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and multiple flash floods and mudslides in various localities. These events highlighted the extreme complexity and severity of the flood control situation, Wang said. 

Currently, the Wusuli River located in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province bordering Russia is having severe flooding, and risk of secondary disasters from heavy rainfall persists, and the potential for additional typhoon impacts could further complicate the flood control situation, according to the minister. 

Global Times