In China, the southwestern province of Guizhou was hit by heavy rains again – for the second time in a week. As a result, the city of Rongjiang, which had previously suffered from flooding, was half flooded, and its residents were evacuated to high ground, writes UNN with reference to Reuters.
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Rongjiang, a city of 300,000 residents located at the confluence of three rivers, was flooded by record rains earlier this week, killing six people and forcing more than 80,000 people to leave their homes. The amount of rainfall that fell in 72 hours was twice the city's June average.
In response to the new round of flooding on Saturday, authorities raised the city's emergency response level to the highest. According to state broadcaster CCTV, a hydrological monitoring station on one of the rivers estimated that the peak water level would reach 253.50 meters around 5 p.m. local time, exceeding the safe threshold by two meters.
Earlier this week, the peak water level reached 256.7 meters, the highest since 1954, the Guizhou provincial government said in a statement to Reuters on Friday, blaming "extreme climate" for the floods. Floods in southwestern China are expected to hit the local economy.
Rongjiang was removed from the national list of poor cities in 2020. Then, an unexpected tourism boom occurred after a local football league, dubbed the "Village Super League," became a social media sensation, attracting thousands of fans and tourists. On Tuesday, the football field was under up to seven meters of water.
China has been struggling with summer floods for millennia, but some scientists say climate change is leading to stronger and more frequent rains. Massive floods can trigger unforeseen "black swan" events with dire consequences, such as dam breaches, Chinese officials say.
In southern China, 13 major rivers in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, and Hainan have been affected by storms and risen above warning levels in the past two days, CCTV reported, citing the Ministry of Water Resources on Saturday.
Addition
In Guizhou province, China, a bridge collapsed due to torrential rains, leaving a truck driver trapped in the cab, which was hanging over the void. Rescuers successfully freed the driver after a dramatic operation.