Guest
China has been experiencing heavy and widespread downpours since the start of the rainy season, which runs from May to September. This has led to at least 20 floods on major rivers across the country. Moreover, 31 rivers exceeded the flood warning level. In Dianjiang County in Chongqing, 270 mm of rain fell in one day, which is a record for one day there. This resulted in six deaths, more than 10,000 evacuations and 40,000 casualties. And also to serious disruptions in railway communications and transport due to flooding. Earlier this week, China's National Meteorological Center reissued a yellow alert for rainfall. Beijing's Ministry of Water Resources issued additional warnings as water levels in Lake Tai rose to 3.9 meters, 0.1 meters above the warning level. Three Gorges Dam is on high alert for further flooding. The flow rate of water into the dam increased to 44,000 cubic meters per second. As a result, the water level rose 15 meters above normal, to 161.1 meters. Chinese authorities say at least 11 people have been killed and 30 are missing after a highway bridge partially collapsed in the northwest of the country following severe storms and flooding. A similar number of people were missing in the southwest after dozens of homes were destroyed by storms. The official Xinhua News Agency said five vehicles that fell from the bridge were recovered after the structure collapsed in Shaanxi province around 8:40 pm on Friday. Rescue operations were still ongoing in the province's Zhashui County on Saturday, with about 20 vehicles and 30 people still missing. In southwestern Sichuan province, an estimated 30 people were missing and about 40 houses were destroyed by floods and storms, Xinhua reported. It said roads, bridges and communications networks in the worst-hit Hanyuan county were damaged or disabled, and that rescue teams had been working since dawn to restore communications and transport links.
