Record Rainfall Causes River Levels to Rise, Flood Risk in Northeast China

Over a dozen rivers, mainly Heilongjiang province, have increased to their highest levels in decades.

Heavy Rainfall

Heavy rainfall has battered some parts of northeastern China since last week, with authorities warning of flooding, as water levels in the region's rivers rise to record levels.13 rivers, mostly in Heilongjiang province, have experienced above-average water levels, with five exceeding historical highs last noticed decades ago, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

Flash flooding in some places has swept away bridges and overpower farms along the banks. According to state-owned China News, the present average precipitation in the Heilongjiang River Basin is said to be the highest since 1961.

Since May, average rainfall in the basin has gotten to 155 millimeters, almost twice the previous record. As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, provincial authorities in Heilongjiang improved to a level two emergency response, the second-highest warning in the four-tiered system.

Authorities Evacuates Residents of Eastern Jiangxi Province

State broadcaster China Central Television reported that 500 residents in the province's Huma County were evacuated on Monday after local authorities increased its flood emergency response to the highest level. Authorities said that water levels in the region's rivers have been rapidly rising and that the situation is becoming "grave."

According to the state-owned China News, another northeastern province, Jilin, had issued 44 warnings for hail, lightning, and heavy rain as of Monday afternoon. Meteorologists forecast that northeast China will experience persistent showers and thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday.

Authorities evacuated thousands of dwellers in the eastern Jiangxi province last month following heavy rainfall that destroyed houses and farmlands. Chinese authorities have been on high alert to reduce the damage that is flood-related after historic floods destroyed large swaths of the country last year.

Floods in North East China

Floods in north east China have taken the lives of about 54 people as of 2013 and have been reported as the worst in 40 years.

About 97 people are still missing and 162,000 people have been displaced. The floods brought about damage to over 30,000 houses - 6,000 houses have collapsed - and also power supplies, and rail networks and road.

Over 100,000 hectares of farmland have been affected and economic losses brought about by the floods is anticipated to be up to billions of U.S. Dollars, especially since the 3 most badly affected provinces are major grain producing regions.

The worst affected region is Liaoning province and especially the city of Fushun where majority of the deaths were recorded. Now, great relief efforts have swung into action and relief camps have been provided for some of the evacuated.

The floods have been provoked by relentless heavy rainfall. According to China's provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters, parts of Liaoning province experienced an incredible 40cm in just 24 hours.

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