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China’s massive floods move east, battering communities along Yangtze River

  • Intense downpours hit areas already struggling after coronavirus with more rain expected in coming days
  • Floodwaters cause further delay for some students trying to sit all-important university entrance exam

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Rescuers tow a raft filled with evacuated residents through floodwaters in China's Jiangxi province on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE
Viola Zhou
After weeks of intense seasonal flooding in southwestern and central China, torrential rains have caused more floods along the Yangtze River, with nearly 300,000 people evacuated in the eastern provinces of Anhui and Jiangxi as homes have been destroyed, roads paralysed and many left stranded without food or electricity.
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More than 2,000 homes were damaged by the latest floodwaters, forcing the evacuation of 147,000 people by Tuesday in Anhui, after a week of heavy rainstorms on the country’s eastern coast. In neighbouring Jiangxi, more than 151,000 people were evacuated, with nearly 2,000 houses damaged, between Monday and Wednesday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The seasonal floodwaters first hit the regions of Sichuan and Chongqing in the southwest and Hubei in central China in late June, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and damaging more than 10,000 houses. The unusually heavy floods have presented an additional challenge to many in areas already struggling with lost income and jobs caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
A submerged riverside pavilion in Wuhan, just months after the central Chinese city was devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: EPA-EFE
A submerged riverside pavilion in Wuhan, just months after the central Chinese city was devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: EPA-EFE

On Thursday, China’s National Meteorological Centre warned of more downpours in southern parts of the country in coming days.

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Hundreds of rescuers have been deployed in the latest areas to be hit by the extreme weather, organising evacuations and handing out supplies. Despite the relief effort, some are still waiting for help. Among them is Ruji, a resident of Xiejiatan town in the eastern province of Jiangxi.

Floodwaters which submerged the ground floor of Ruji’s home have been slowly retreating since the rain stopped on Thursday, but the family still had no access to fresh food, clean water or electricity, she told the South China Morning Post. Three power banks were all she had to keep her mobile phone connected.

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