Heavy Rainfall, Flooding Submerges Regions Across China

Heavy rainfall has caused severe flooding in 26 Chinese provinces, with more than 11 million people losing their properties in the disaster, according to authorities.

But locals suspected that authorities were also secretly discharging water in reservoirs that had filled up with stormwater, worsening the flooding.

China’s Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) announced that since June, the water levels of more than 198 rivers in the country had reached their warning levels, meaning the banks may burst if the water cannot be discharged.

It also said that the water levels of 25 rivers had reached higher than their warning levels on June 28—meaning people’s lives were at risk.

More heavy rain is forecasted for those regions. The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) posted a “yellow alarm” notice on June 28, second out of the four-level warning system. It means that rainfall has reached 50 millimeters (about 2 inches) or more for the past six hours.

Specifically, the provinces of Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu, as well as Shanghai, will experience heavy rain in the next 24 hours. The worst rainfall can reach 200 millimeters (7.874 inches).

Yichang, the city just below the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei, suffered severe flooding on June 27 due to the rainfall.

Water filled the basements of many structures in the city. Netizens shared videos of pedestrians who fell into the sewer and cars being washed away by the flooding.

The Three Gorges Dam spans the Yangtze river. Since mid-June, upstream regions of the river have experienced heavy rainfall, filling up its reservoir.

Residents told The Epoch Times that they suspected authorities had secretly discharged water from the Three Gorges reservoir.

“It rains every year during this season. This year’s rainfall is not any heavier than previous years. Why did the flooding hit Yichang this year?” Mr. Zhang said via a phone interview on June 28. He added that the excess water from the reservoir…

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