China launches emergency response for heavy rains

Aerial photo taken on June 4, 2020 shows the flood peak arriving a river section in urban Liuzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo by Li Hanchi/Xinhua)

China has activated a level-4 emergency response, the lowest in the emergency response system, for potential floods caused by heavy rains in the southern parts of the country, the Ministry of Emergency Management said Sunday.

Since the beginning of June, downpours have hit large parts of south China, bringing accumulated precipitation of 100 to 250 mm in some regions, the ministry said in a statement.

Affected by the rainstorms, 52 rivers in eight provincial-level regions, including Guangdong and Fujian provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, had seen water levels exceed the warning line.

Heavy rains are expected to sustain in the next three days in south China, and some rivers may once again rise above the warning level in Guangxi and Fujian, the ministry said.

The ministry has dispatched a work team to Guangxi, where over 320,000 people have been affected by downpours since Thursday, to guide flood relief.