China’s Rongjiang county battles severe flooding, activates highest-level emergency response

Beijing: Heavy flooding has returned to Rongjiang County in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, prompting authorities to activate the highest-level emergency flood response, reported Xinhua.

The Shihuichang Hydrological Station on the Duliu River recorded a water level of 253.06 meters, exceeding the guaranteed level by 1.56 meters.

The local flood control and drought relief headquarters has upgraded the flood control emergency response from Level II to Level I, the highest level in China’s four-tier weather warning system.

Over 41,574 individuals from 11,992 households have been relocated to safer areas as of Saturday evening, reported Xinhua.
More than 1,000 soldiers with heavy machinery, including excavators and bulldozers, have been deployed to assist in relief operations.
The National Development and Reform Commission has allocated 200 million yuan (approximately $28 million) to support disaster relief efforts in Guizhou Province.

Since June 24, Rongjiang has been hit by severe flooding due to persistent rainstorms. As of midday on Thursday, six people had died as a result of the floods, Xinhua reported.

Meanwhile, as per Al Jazeera, at least six people died and more than 80,000 people were evacuated from their homes after floods inundated China’s Guizhou province, state media reported, as a tropical depression made landfall in the island province.

State broadcaster CCTV reported on Thursday that “exceptionally large floods” had swept through Guizhou’s Rongjiang county since Tuesday.