BEIJING: The Ministry of Water Resources reported that the first significant flood of 2024 in China has taken place in the Beijiang River, located in the Pearl River Basin.
This event was designated as China’s No. 1 flood of the year due to its severity, marking it under a system that numbers floods based on their intensity. Furthermore, this occurrence is noted as the earliest in the year for such a flood since the initiation of the numbering system in 1998, according to the ministry.
As per a report from the Global Times, over 4,600 individuals in Shaoguan, Yingde, and Guangzhou, located in South China’s Guangdong Province, have been relocated due to intense rainfall in the Pearl River Basin. In several areas, the operation of railways, roads, and water routes has been halted, and numerous national observatories have recorded unprecedented daily rainfall for April.
According to China’s National Meteorological Center (NMC), Guangdong will have heavy rainfall from Sunday to Monday. On Sunday morning, accum
ulated rainfall in parts of Guangdong reached 350 to 500 millimeters, and continued heavy rainfall triggered flooding, landslides and other secondary disasters in many places.
Officials have put in place a level IV flood control and flood defense emergency response and sent a working group to assist in guiding the defense against flood damage.
The NMC also warned that the risk of disasters such as landslides is higher in the central and northern regions of Guangdong due to the high cumulative rainfall and the high water content of the soil. Experts said the public should strengthen measures to protect against waterlogging and landslides.
Source: Emirates News Agency
