Heavy rainfall in the regions downstream of the Yangtze River caused severe flooding in southern China, with the cities of Zhenjiang and Nanjing in Jiangsu Province upgrading their flood response alert to the highest level over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Chinese minister of water resources hosted two meetings on July 18, instructing local authorities to arrange for dikes to be broken and the rural areas of Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, and Jiangxi provinces to be submerged—sacrificing the countryside in order to protect the big cities.
