Thousands Trapped as Chinese Authorities Discharge Stormwaters Into Villages, Submerging Them

Firefighters are patrolling with boats at a flooded area near the Yangtze River in Zhenjiang, in China's eastern Jiangsu Province on July 20, 2020. STR/AFP via Getty Images

To ensure that cities are not inundated by floodwaters, local authorities in central China have begun discharging excess rainwater accumulating in rivers and reservoirs into rural areas.

Farmland and houses across Jiangxi, Hunan, Anhui, and Hubei provinces were submerged in recent days.