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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. 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. 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. Northwest China's Shaanxi province on Tuesday raised its disaster emergency response level from IV to I, the highest in the country's four-tier emergency response system, after rain-fuelled disasters killed at least at least 20 people in the province. The northern metropolis of Zhengzhou was forced to close schools and tourist spots, and cars were flooded on roads and parking lots. According to the commission, the Provincial Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Management Commission activated the highest-level emergency response system at 10:00 a.m. in accordance with the provincial emergency response plan due to the significant losses and ongoing threat of recent flooding. At 9 a.m. Tuesday, the provincial meteorological observatory raised the rainfall alert level to yellow as heavy rainfall is expected in the cities of Yan'an, Tongchuan, Baoji, Xianyang and Hanzhong from 9 a.m. Tuesday to 9 a.m. Wednesday. #china #flood #storm #rain #news #weather #threegorgesdam
