Heavy rains in southern China have resulted in flooding and landslides in several provinces. Officially, there have been 105 deaths and 63 missing people as of mid-morning June 13.
Reservoirs have overflowed and ruined crop paddies in Hunan province and Yueyang city.
This year, many provinces and towns in the south of China have suffered from drought. After June 3, with heavy precipitation downstream of the Yangtze River, most of the drought-stricken areas have become waterlogged. Hubei, Jiangsu and Anhui are three provinces whose drought conditions are lessening.
Severe flooding has occurred after days of heavy, continuous rain in Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou and Zhejiang provinces.
Nine consecutive days of rain caused flash flooding in Jiangxi province, which was severe in many areas. Over 830,000 people across 22 counties have been affected, state media reported on June 15.
Due to the heavy rain, Wuhan city, located mid-way along the course of the Yangtze River, recorded 24 billion cubic feet of water flowing past in less than one day. Hubei province has 32 counties being pelted by rain, with 16 counties in extreme conditions. In Xianning, the precipitation level has reached a maximum of 7.9 inches.
Since the early evening of June 14 China’s National Meteorological Center has issued continuous storm warnings. It is predicted that storms will continue until June 16.
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