Nation braces for more heavy rainfall, floods

China's national weather authority activated a Level III emergency response for significant meteorological disasters on Thursday as heavy rainfall continued to lash central and eastern parts of the country, triggering flash floods, disrupting transportation and prompting mass evacuations.

Since Wednesday, heavy rainfall has hit several regions, including the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Chongqing and the provinces of Sichuan, Henan and Hebei. Severe convective weather has also been detected in parts of Henan and Hebei, the China Meteorological Administration said.

Over the next three days, heavy rainfall is expected to continue across areas from the eastern part of Southwest China to central and eastern regions. Authorities have warned of risks such as mountain torrents, geological disasters and urban waterlogging.

In Chongqing, downpours began on Wednesday, causing flash floods and road interruptions in multiple townships. Railway operations were also affected, with 17 trains suspended on Thursday, including services to major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

In Taiyuan township of Chongqing, torrential rains destroyed large areas of crops. About 1,500 residents were safely relocated, including 800 who were moved to centralized shelters, according to the local government.

By Thursday afternoon, multiple areas in Henan had issued red alerts for heavy rainfall. In Zhengzhou's aviation port area, rainfall exceeded 100 millimeters, with a maximum recorded precipitation of 130.5 mm.

Despite the heavy rain, railways and airports in Henan maintained normal operations, local authorities said.

In Hunan province, a rainstorm battered the northern part of the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture. The township of Da'an in Longshan county recorded 381.8 mm of rain in 24 hours — a local record — causing inland rivers to swell and resulting in severe waterlogging.

The local hydrologic bureau in Longshan issued a red flood warning as the Guoli River rose by 7.1 meters, reaching 450.52 meters — surpassing the station's previous highest recorded water level of 449.96 meters.

Meanwhile, in Guangdong, which was recently hit by typhoon-triggered rainstorms, authorities on Thursday ended the Level IV flood emergency response as rainfall subsided and water levels in rivers and lakes stabilized.

In Huaiji county of Zhaoqing, the water level of the Suijiang River had begun to slowly recede from a historic peak of 55.22 meters recorded on Wednesday. Power supply is gradually being restored in affected areas based on real-time water level changes, local authorities said.

According to the latest forecast from the China Meteorological Administration, heavy to extremely heavy rainfall — ranging from 250 to 280 mm — were expected in parts of the provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou, as well as Guangxi, between Thursday and Friday.

Thunderstorms, strong winds, or hail of level 8 or above are forecast in areas across Northeast, North, Southwest and Southeast China, the administration warned.

Shi Baoyin in Zhengzhou and Tan Yingzi in Chongqing contributed to this story.

qiuquanlin@chinadaily.com.cn