Major rivers hit by record 25 major floods this year – Macau Today

China’s major rivers have seen 25 major floods so far this year, the highest number since data collection began in 1988, according to the Asian country’s water resources ministry.

Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture said at a press conference that “extreme meteorological phenomena will be frequent” in 2024, with heavy rainfall and large-scale flooding disasters occurring in the north and south of my country.

Vice Minister Wang Baoen warned that “China still faces challenges this year” as the flood season has not yet ended. “This year, due to the impact of Typhoon Gaimi, we recorded higher than normal cumulative rainfall. The average cumulative rainfall across the country reached 183 mm, 10% more than normal.”

Typhoon Gaime brought a total of 216.7 billion cubic meters of rainfall to the southern part of the country, a “significant increase of 43%” compared to the 151.8 billion cubic meters of rainfall brought by Typhoon Doksuli last year.

The frequency of major floods was higher than the annual average, with about 30 rivers in the country exceeding historical water levels. A total of 13 major floods occurred in the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Huai River, Pearl River and other river basins.

“Compared with the same period in previous years, the number of rivers exceeding the warning level has increased by 120 percent,” Wang said.

Serious consequences

Since the beginning of this year, the frequency of related disasters has also increased, including the dam burst in Yueyang, Hunan and the collapse of a highway bridge in Shangluo, Shaanxi.

There were also numerous flash floods and landslides at various locations, highlighting the “extreme complexity and severity of the flood control situation,” Wang said.

The Ussuri River in Heilongjiang Province in northeast China, bordering Russia, has also suffered severe floods in recent days, and the risk of secondary disasters caused by heavy rains continues to exist.

In recent years, meteorological disasters have caused huge losses to this Asian country: in the summer of 2023, floods occurred in Beijing, killing more than 30 people; in 2022, multiple waves of heat waves and droughts hit central China and eastern China.

In July 2021, the central province of Henan was hit by the heaviest rainfall in decades, killing nearly 400 people, which the Chinese government blamed on the “lack of preparation and risk perception” of local authorities.