Severe flooding affects more than 1 million in China’s Hubei
Image credit: NASA
More than one million people are now affected by severe flooding in Hubei, China, after another bout of heavy downpour hit the province on Saturday, June 27, 2020, according to the Hubei Provincial Emergency Management Office.
Wide swaths of the province have been affected after rivers burst their banks, including in the cities of Yichang, Xiangyang, Jingmen, Xiaogan, Huanggang, and Enshi. Provincial capital Hubei was also hit by inundations.
As of June 29, up to 1.2 million people are affected and 9 722 had been relocated to emergency centers. A total of 478 houses collapsed, while 2 241 were damaged.
Radio Free Asia (RFA) said the floods were also a result of torrential rains in the Yangtze river basin, coupled with the release of floodwater from the Three Gorges Dam– the world's largest.
The flood has reached Wuhan with some eerie soundtrack. #China Wuhan was flooded this morning, as it was continuously raining for the past week along the Yangtze river, many cities along the Yangtze flooded including Chongqing, Yichang, and now Wuhan.
— Martin Hiesboeck 解聰文 #COVID19 (@MHiesboeck) June 29, 2020
*#3gorgesdam update update*
Heavy rains have increasing the amount of flood discharge forcing the state to open the gates, this will undoubtedly worsen Yichang and downstream cities and leave millions homeless due to excessive flooding#China #Weather #3GD pic.twitter.com/Izm8phW1tC
— The Underground Silk-Railroad Communique (@UndergroundSilk) June 28, 2020
"In the Yangtze River city of Yichang, residents blamed recent releases of water from the Three Gorges and Gezhouba dams upstream of the city for flooding in their backyard," RFA added.
On June 27, Yichang City in Hubei recorded 140 mm (5.5 inches) of rain, which was the city's biggest daily rainfall in 20 years. The downpour resulted in widespread flooding, prompting firefighters to rescue more than 1 000 trapped residents.
Compatriots of the Chinese nation
Today in Yichang, a vast ocean, the Three Gorges Dam accelerated drainage! Regardless of downstream safety!
pic.twitter.com/lO6uKJiQTF— Yaozulong (@Yaozulong1) June 27, 2020
Today, Yichang City, Hubei Province, China was flooded. The Chinese media reported that it was caused by rain. This is a naked lie. Everyone can see a lot of videos on Twitter. The rain cannot flood the entire city. It can only be caused by the CCP’s deliberate flood discharge pic.twitter.com/ZrnS4PYrdh
— O Sir (@theonesir) June 27, 2020
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Horrible. Hope that dam holds!