China’s Pingjiang hit by worst floods in 70 years
A ‘wartime’ emergency was declared by local authorities in Pingjiang, China’s Hunan Province after flooding in Miluo River went 7 m (23 feet) above alert level.
Record flooding hit Pingjiang County, China’s Hunan province on July 1, 2024. Considering that it was the most severe flooding in 70 years, the local government has declared a “wartime” emergency.
The Miluo River, which flows through Pingjiang County and eventually joins the Yangtze River, reached 77.7 m (255 feet) by 00:30 on July 2, said the county government.
It was the highest water level recorded since 1954 — exceeding the alert level by 7 m (23 feet).
The severe flood in Pingjiang, Hunan, was more than 7 meters higher than the warning water level pic.twitter.com/90IMWlTNsz
— Jim (@yangyubin1998) July 1, 2024
Pingjiang, Hunan received more than 380 mm (14.96 inches) of rainfall in 24 hours, the water level of the Miluo River rose by more than 8 m (26.25 feet) in 24 hours, and floods poured into the county town.
In nearby Miluo county, at least two villagers were reported missing after a landslide on July 1, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Pingjiang, Hunan received more than 380 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, the water level of the Miluo River rose by more than 8 meters in 24 hours, and floods poured into the county town pic.twitter.com/FoJGw2UnRr
— Jim (@yangyubin1998) July 1, 2024
Heavy rains that brought widespread flooding in Southern China have battered the regions around the Yangtze River since June. A dyke burst into two sections along the upper reaches of the Miluo River in Pingjiang, flooding large swathes of the county, while reservoirs were overflowing.
One-third of Pingjiang’s old town and half of its new town is underwater, Hunan Daily reported. Floodwater in some areas was said to be as high as 3 m (9.84 feet). More than 5 300 people have been evacuated so far, according to the Hunan government’s official website.
Pingjiang has recorded 759.6 mm (29.9 inches) of rainfall since June 18, the highest for this period since 1961 when records began.
The county’s Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters issued the highest-level emergency response and mobilized over 160 rescue teams, with over 15 500 rescue workers involved. Bus services were shut down in the county from 12:00 LT on July 1, while traffic was diverted from some highways in Yueyang.
Heavy rains are set to continue lashing the county until July 3, with the weather bureau forecasting 80 to 120 mm (3.15 to 4.72 inches) of additional rainfall.
That could take the water level past the record high of 78.16 m (256.33 feet), forecasters told state news agency Xinhua. Major rivers in China have already reached alert levels in more than a dozen places since the flood season began last month.
Major flooding is expected in the coming weeks across China, including in the Huai River and the Huai River Basin, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, as well as the Songhua River and Liao River, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.
References:
1 ‘Wartime’ situation as worst flooding in 70 years hits county in central China – SCMP – July 2, 2024
Featured image credit: Jim Yang (stillshot)
“Thus says The Lord: Peoples of the earth, why do you corrupt and pollute My garden?! You have made it as the dunghill! Thus you have signed your own certificate, and with death you are in agreement. And though you walk as if you will live forever, I tell you the truth, you are already dead. For you have surely crossed the threshold; behold, you have reached the point of no return. Yet in your arrogance, you continue to forsake your Maker and Him who has given you breath, holding fast to the wide path which leads to destruction. Therefore, judgment waits for you on the horizon; calamity and desolations shall increase by measure, as the sun sets upon this age of men.
Peoples of the earth and all leaders among men, hear the Word of The Lord, for thus says The Lord: Your knowledge is useless, all your achievements are in vain, and shall come to nothing in the Day of The Lord’s Anger! For as it is written: I shall surely punish this world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud, and utterly humiliate the haughtiness of the tyrant, the mighty, and the terrible.
Therefore, turn from this wicked way you have chosen! Repent, and kiss The Son, that you may live and not die! For I AM HE!… He who raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy out of the dunghill, says The Lord.”
(From The Volumes of Truth, Volume Two, an excerpt from “The Wide Path”)
Consider again that dot [Earth]. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.