In Guangdong, cities rise to meet flood threat

June 24, 2022

BEIJING – Government departments in Yingde, Guangdong province, were ordered on Thursday to maintain high vigilance against geological and natural disasters after the flood crest of the Beijiang River passed the city.

City authorities said the departments concerned should continue to be alert for possible landslides, mountain torrents, reservoir and river dike failures and building collapses, as trouble usually comes after floodwaters recede.

“The flood crest of the Beijiang has passed the city, but it remains at a high level and the flow is still large, threatening the lives and property of local residents,” the Yingde government said in a statement.

Water in the Beijiang, a tributary of the Pearl River, is receding slowly after the flood crest at 2 pm on Wednesday.

The river, which runs through the city’s downtown area, reached as high as 35.97 meters, 9.97 meters above the warning line, when the flood crest appeared, the statement said.

Authorities said people’s lives should be put first, with particular attention paid to possible outbreaks of post-disaster epidemics and efforts to organize residents to restore production and rebuild their homes.

Catastrophic flooding, which happens once in 50 years, has resulted in widespread of economic losses and the evacuation of many local residents in Yingde, under the administration of Qingyuan city, known as a back garden of Guangzhou, Guangdong, the statement said.

Many rural houses have collapsed and large swaths of farmland have been flooded in recent weeks, it said. But no casualties has been reported so far because of measures introduced by the city government, the statement said.