Authorities across several regions of the Chinese mainland, spanning the south, southwest, and central parts of the country, have raised emergency levels and issued urgent disaster warnings this Tuesday as relentless heavy rains continue to lash the region.
In south China's Hainan Province, strong southerly air currents have brought persistent downpours since Monday. The impact has been severe in southeastern and northern Hainan, where some townships have recorded rainfall exceeding 300 mm. In response, provincial disaster prevention, reduction, and relief authorities have upgraded the emergency response for floods and storms from Level IV to Level III, while simultaneously raising the heavy rain alert to Level III.
The province's four-tier emergency response system designates Level I as the highest severity. Geological disaster warnings remain in effect, with some townships under a Level III alert for high risk between Tuesday evening and Wednesday evening, while areas including Sanya and Wuzhishan are under a Level IV alert. Meteorological experts anticipate that heavy rainfall will persist in various townships through Wednesday.
The situation is particularly critical in southwest China's Guizhou Province. Accumulated rainfall has topped 250 mm in several areas. In Guiding County, an extremely heavy downpour triggered severe flooding and landslides, resulting in four deaths and five people missing as of Tuesday afternoon.
Consequently, the provincial geological disaster prevention and control headquarters have activated a Level III alert for the Qiandongnan, Qiannan, and Qianxinan prefectures. With severe convective weather forecasted to persist from Tuesday night through Thursday, the risk of further geological disasters remains high. Local authorities have been urged to closely monitor water levels and ensure the timely evacuation of residents in high-risk areas.
Meanwhile, in central China's Hunan Province, authorities have activated a Level IV emergency response for geological disasters. This move comes as officials warn that widespread impact and high accumulated rainfall from recent storms have created a significant risk of landslides and other soil-related disasters.
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Multiple provinces across China issue alerts amid heavy rains
cgtn.com
