Chinese weather forecasters yesterday warned several provinces to expect torrential rain and flash floods over the next two days as the unrelenting downpour wreaked havoc on the country.
According to state media, more than three thousand people were evacuated from the northwestern Hunan province over the weekend as heavy rain was unleashed on Sangzhi, Shimen and Yongshun counties, and Zhangjiajie City.
Sangzhi County recorded the heaviest rainfall this year, with a maximum precipitation reaching 256mm overnight from Saturday to Sunday, according to state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). It was the most extensive and widespread rain in Sangzhi since 1998, CCTV said.
Photo EPA-EFE
China has experienced weeks of rains and floods amid an unusually wet summer. In late July this year, storms from Typhoon Dokusri caused record rains to hit China in over a decade, with Beijing experiencing its heaviest rainfall in 140 years.
China’s government has called for more precautions against flooding as Typhoon Saola travels across the South China Sea, with forecasts predicting it to land in Guangdong province this Friday.
On Saturday last week, China’s State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and Ministry of Emergency Management said in a video conference that heavy rainfall in many parts of the country might cause geological disasters including mountain torrents and floods in some small and medium-sized rivers, state media People’s Daily reported.
There is also uncertainty over Typhoon Saola’s path, the China Meteorological Administration said, but it would bring heavy rainfall in the coastal areas including Fujian and Zhejiang provinces from tomorrow to Friday.
Fujian has launched an emergency response to Typhoon Saola, ordering fishing boats in some waters to return to their nearby harbors and all personnel on board them to evacuate ashore by tomorrow at noon, local media reported yesterday.
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