Flooding strikes in Shaoguan, Guangdong
By ZHENG CAIXIONG in GUANGZHOU | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2022-06-21 16:40
Authorities in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, are evacuating residents who live in low-lying areas or other potentially dangerous places after the city raised its flood risk designation to the highest level on Tuesday morning.
Previously, at 2 am on Tuesday, Shaoguan's flood control, drought relief and typhoon headquarters issued a flood warning, asking all residents living in the low-lying houses on both sides of Wujiang, Zhenjiang and Beijiang rivers — especially those in dilapidated buildings or old residential areas and on Longzhou Island — to move to safe areas to avoid casualties.
Meanwhile all the outdoor construction sites have been ordered to suspend work.
According to a statement released by the city government on WeChat, Shaoguan, a major industrial production base in northern Guangdong, is being flooded after continuous heavy downpours since the end of May.
Cumulative average rainfall in Shaoguan reached 741.8 mm, and even 1,527.5 mm in some areas, breaking historical records for the period, the statement said.
As of Sunday, water levels in 11 large and medium-sized reservoirs in Shaoguan had been reported above their warning lines.
Nine river hydrological stations were also reported to have exceeded warning levels.
More than 62,000 people had been affected as of Sunday, with more than 16,000 evacuated, the statement said.