Heavy rainfall in Southern China has caused the Ministry of Water resources to launch an emergency response for floods from Saturday afternoon, as the water level of China's longest river, the Yangtze, keeps increasing.
Torrential rains in the provinces of Guizhou, Jiangxi, Anhui and Zhejiang, as well as in Guangxi have resulted in mudslides in rural areas and road collapses in cities, CNA reported.
Unsettled and rainy weather is not uncommon in southern China as the time period before and after the Dragon Boat Festival in June is marked by the advent of summer rains. This time however, the on-going rains have been much intense.
According to China Daily, in the Yangtze River basin, warning for rising water levels has been issued as torrential rains have been observed in some parts of Poyang Lake as well as Ganjiang River since Friday morning.
The meteorologists have cautioned against 'mountain torrents' and rain-triggered flooding, which will continue till Monday in a few river systems and main streams of the Yangtze.
The neighboring provinces of Central and eastern China such as Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu are on alert.
In order to guarantee the safety of the citizens, the Changjiang Water Resources Commission that exercises water administrative functions over the Yangtze, has advised the provinces to be prepared to tackle any crisis related to the rains with a proper flood prevention and emergency response.
Since China is historically prone to summer flooding, the country has developed a four-tier flood-control emergency response system, where Level I represents the most severe one.
