Flood response efforts stepped up nationwide

The National Meteorological Center has renewed an orange alert, the second-highest in its four-tier warning system, for torrential rain, as consistent downpours swell some major watercourses, resulting in casualties and triggering dike breaches and emergency evacuations.

The center issued an orange alert on Wednesday that has been renewed every day since.

Over a 24-hour period starting at 2 pm on Tuesday, heavy rainfall is expected to engulf vast areas in 11 provincial-level regions, including Hebei and Liaoning provinces, as well as Beijing and Tianjin, it said.

The accumulated precipitation in some areas may reach 100 to 200 millimeters, the center said. It also warned of brief but heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gales in some locations, with maximum hourly precipitation of more than 80 mm.

Downpours have already wreaked havoc in many regions, with Hunan province in Central China bearing the brunt of the devastation.

Due to heavy rainfall caused by Typhoon Gaemi, the water level at Lianhuatang hydrological station in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River reached its warning level for flood control — 32.5 meters — at 6:50 pm on Monday, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

It is the third flood this year along Asia's longest watercourse, it said.

On Monday, the ministry activated a Level III emergency response, the third highest in a four-tier system, for floods in Hunan and a Level IV emergency response for floods in Jiangsu, Anhui and Jiangxi provinces. It sent work teams to Hunan to provide guidance on flood control and relief efforts.

In Xiangtan county, Hunan, three dike breaches occurred along sections of the Juanshui River, which flows into the Xiangjiang River, a major tributary of the Yangtze, after some sections experienced record-breaking floods in the wake of Typhoon Gaemi. One of the breaches was successfully sealed on Monday afternoon.

A breach that occurred at around 1:40 pm on Monday in Hekou township is over 30 meters wide, and has left many houses and crops inundated.

Liu De'an, a 67-year-old villager, was trapped by the rising floodwaters due to his limited mobility.

"I watched the water rise quickly, flooding the first floor of my house," he said. "I was terrified. Thankfully, the rescuers arrived just in time and saved me."

Another dike breach took place around 8 pm on Sunday in Yisuhe township, with more than 3,800 residents evacuated as of Monday morning.

More than 1,200 people, including armed police officers, militia and professional rescuers, have been mobilized for rescue and relief work, assisted by more than 1,000 local officials and Party members, according to the local flood control and drought relief headquarters.

Technology such as drones, GPS measuring instruments, radar speed sensors and unmanned hydrological survey boats have been used to provide support for the sealing of the breach and rescue operations.

In Zixing, Hunan, torrential rain associated with Typhoon Gaemi has left four dead and another three missing since a storm hit the city on Friday.

The rain caused communication outages in 78 villages, while power was lost in 112 others. About 87,000 people were affected, Hunan Daily reported. As of 6 am Monday, the city had transferred 11,275 people to safety.

Dandong in Northeast China's Liaoning province was also hit by a heavy deluge. From Friday to Sunday, the city, located on the lower reaches of the Yalu River, was lashed by heavy rain, leaving Yalu River Park, which is usually bustling with tourists, submerged under nearly 2 meters of water.

Dandong has experienced seven episodes of heavy rain this month involving a total of 486.5 mm of rainwater, 90 percent more than the historical average for the period.

By 4 pm on Monday, Dandong had relocated over 28,700 people, according to local authorities.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Finance, together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, allocated 238 million yuan ($32.8 million) of central government funds for agricultural disaster prevention and relief to flood-hit areas in Henan, Hunan, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces and Chongqing.

The funds will be used to subsidize crop replanting, restoration of water-damaged agricultural facilities, and measures for drainage and flood control, in a move to help reduce agricultural losses caused by the floods, the Ministry of Finance said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.