On Saturday, June 28, Guizhou province in southwestern China faced another bout of heavy rain, leading to significant flooding in the city of Rongjiang. This city, positioned at the intersection of three rivers and with a population of approximately 300,000, had already been hit by severe downpours earlier this week, which resulted in six deaths and forced more than 80,000 individuals to evacuate to safer areas.
In light of the renewed flooding, authorities escalated their emergency response protocol to the highest level on that Saturday. Reports from the hydrological station indicated that water levels in one river were expected to reach 253.5 meters by that afternoon, surpassing the safety limits by 2 meters. Previously, earlier this week, the water level had peaked at 256.7 meters, marking the highest figure recorded since 1954, which officials attributed to the extreme climate conditions affecting the region. The continuous floods in southwest China are expected to have a serious negative impact on local economies.
6 Comments
Muchacho
It’s hard to have faith in authorities when they seem so ill-prepared for situations like this every year.
Bermudez
If this is a result of extreme climate conditions, why aren't we putting more resources into climate change mitigation?
Africa
It's sad, but it looks like nothing changes. Another day, another tragedy. When will it end?
Muchacha
I’m glad that the authorities are taking the flooding seriously. Lives are at stake, and action is needed.
Stan Marsh
Rongjiang has been through this before; why was there no investment in proper flood defenses?
dedus mopedus
The government’s emergency response plan, although reactive, is better than doing nothing at all!