High tides flood homes, vehicles in coastal cities

Coastal cities such as Panjin and Yingkou in Liaoning province and Tangshan in Hebei province were deluged by high tides, flooding homes and vehicles in the areas on Monday.

No deaths or injuries have been reported, and floodwaters soon began gradually receding, according to media reports on Tuesday.

No similar abnormal occurrences were reported in China or in other global maritime regions during the same period, the Ministry of Natural Resources said.

From Sunday evening to Monday afternoon, tide gauge stations in the northern parts of the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea saw a rise in water levels ranging from 80 to 160 centimeters in the absence of any significant weather systems, the ministry said.

Experts attribute this unusual water influx primarily to the backflow of storm surges from the open sea in addition to astronomical high tides.

Strong storm surges occurred along Bohai Bay and the coast of the Shandong Peninsula from Friday to Saturday. Then, from Saturday afternoon to Sunday, a widespread and sustained decrease in water levels exceeding 100 centimeters was observed along the Bohai coast, leading to the accumulation of a large amount of seawater offshore.

The accumulated seawater surged back ashore from Sunday night to Monday morning, coinciding with local astronomical high tides, resulting in elevated water levels along the coasts of Liaoning, Hebei and Tianjin.

"I have lived on this street for over 40 years and have never seen such a high tide," Zhang Xinghua, a fisherman in Panjin, told Xinhua News Agency.

"The water came in quickly today and receded quickly as well," said a woman in Panjin surnamed Liu.

Zhou Guanbo, a senior engineer at the China Meteorological Administration, told CCTV that astronomical tides typically occur during the full moon and new moon periods in the lunar calendar, as the gravitational forces of the sun and moon are strongest during these times, causing sea levels to rise.

The unusual occurrence of this coastal inundation coincided with the full moon in the ninth month of the lunar calendar.

yandongjie@chinadaily.com.cn