BEIJING: China’s flood control efforts have entered a critical phase, with 33 rivers nationwide exceeding warning levels by Monday, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.
Triggered by persistent heavy downpours, 22 rivers in Jiangxi, Hubei, Anhui, Zhejiang and Guizhou have reported floods exceeding alert marks. Meanwhile, 11 rivers in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province saw above warning-line floods.
China’s State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Monday raised the emergency responses to flooding to Level III in the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan, following the decision by the national observatory to issue red alerts for rainstorms in these areas.
China has a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, with Level I being the most urgent response, and a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.
The flood prevention situation of the Yangtze River basin has become stark, as water levels in the tributaries of the Poyang Lake basin have exceeded warning levels, and the water level in the main stream of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River continued to rise, according to the Changjiang Water Resources Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item