“Once in a century” heavy rain and flood disaster in Guangdong, China: 4 dead and 10 missing, heavy rain continues | Past 24 hours | Corner International udn Global

【2024. 4.23 China】

“Once-in-a-century” heavy rain and flood disaster in Guangdong, China: 4 dead and 10 missing, heavy rain continues

Guangdong, China has been experiencing heavy rains for days since last week. As of April 23, the official announcement of Guangdong Province has revealed that 4 people have died, 10 people are missing, and 110,000 people have been evacuated. Heavy rains and flooding continue to occur in various places, especially in Shaoguan and Qingyuan cities in northern Guangdong Province. Although the current flooding situation is gradually slowing down, the Chinese weather forecast still reminds that heavy rainfall in various places is still continuing in recent days. Guangzhou City’s Municipal Three-Way Prevention Headquarters announced that it will launch a heavy rain warning starting from the 23rd; relevant weather forecasts believe that by 25 There will be a round of heavier rainstorms on the same day, and heavy rains across southern China may continue into the weekend.

The heavy rainfall that triggered the floods started on April 16. A total of 44 rivers in the Pearl River Basin flooded. Zhaoqing, Shaoguan, Qingyuan and Jiangmen in central and northern Guangdong were seriously affected by the floods. The water levels in the Xijiang and Beijiang basins where the Pearl River is diverted rose. , many hydrological stations recorded exceeding warning water levels; on the 21st, the provincial capital Guangzhou reported that its reservoirs had reached the upper limit, and there were 2,609 hydrological stations with daily rainfall greater than 50 mm, which was 59% of all observation stations, and 27 hydrological stations entered Alert state. On April 21, the Guangdong authorities raised the flood control emergency response in the Pearl River Delta to Level 2.

Among the disaster-stricken areas, Jiangwan Town in Wujiang District, Shaoguan City was cut off from the outside world for 24 hours on April 20. The road to the outside world was blocked by landslides, making it impossible for people and vehicles to enter.

Chinese news media, including the state-run CCTV, described the flood as a “once-in-a-hundred-year” flood (the original description was quoted from the Guangdong Provincial Hydrology Bureau, using the term “the Beijiang Basin in Guangdong will experience a flood close to a once-in-a-century event”). ), authorities have evacuated 110,000 people from Guangdong, of which about 25,800 have been placed in shelters. Officials announced that at least 4 people are known to have died and 10 people are missing. From the 20th to the 21st, 1.16 million households were without power. However, on the evening of the 21st, about 80% of households without power had their power restored.

Continuous rains over the past few days have also caused the delay and cancellation of multiple flights at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, and schools in at least three cities have announced the suspension of classes. Houses in various parts of Guangdong Province have been severely damaged and flooded in many places. The rivers that burst their banks have covered roads, fields and docks. Flooded, bridges collapsed, and the authorities estimated direct economic losses of nearly 140 million yuan.

Guangdong Province is a major economic and population center in China, with about 127 million residents. The Pearl River Delta, which is severely hit by heavy rains, is the heart of China’s manufacturing industry. May to June every year is the rainy season in Guangdong, and today’s heavy rains indicate that flooding has come earlier. arrival. Neighboring areas such as Fujian Province, Guizhou Province and Guangxi were also affected by heavy rains. The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region was hit by strong winds and buildings were destroyed. CCTV reported that hail and severe floods occurred in some areas of Guangxi; 65 landslides are known to have occurred in Hezhou City, Guangxi.

The National Meteorological Administration of China warned that heavy rainfall will continue in southern China and other places until at least April 23.