A year’s worth of rain in one day, massive floods hit central China

Severe, widespread flooding hit parts of central China on July 15 and 16, 2024, as record-breaking torrential rains, with up to a year’s worth in 24 hours, claimed at least four lives.

An orange alert was issued in Central China’s Henan province at 09:00 LT on July 16 after heavy rains battered the region, causing severe flooding.

The rains affected the area stretching from the Sichuan Basin to the Huanghuai region. The cities of Nanyang, Zhoukou, and Xuchang were hit by record-breaking torrential rains.

Fifteen provinces were placed under full emergency alert amid heightened risks of severe flooding.

Nanyang, Henan, and Xiangyang, Hubei were hit by record-breaking rainstorms, with rainfall reaching 410 mm (16.1 inches) in 12 hours and 111.7 mm (4.39 inches) in 1 hour, causing flooding in many rivers.

The state-run news agency Xinhua reported a maximum precipitation of 638.5 mm (25.1 inches) in Sheqi County on July 15. Other weather stations in the county reported up to 711.6 mm (28 inches) in 24 hours — almost a year worth of rain for the area.

According to a report by the Global Times, 418.6 mm (16.5 inches) of rain was recorded in the county by China’s National Meteorological Center (NMC), breaking the previous local precipitation record for the region.

Four people were killed on July 14 when their car was swept into a river by flood currents in the city of Suizhou in Hubei, according to the local fire department.

Suizhou issued a red rainstorm alert, the most severe level on a four-tier warning system, and recorded up to 150 mm (5.9 inches) of rain on July 14, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The city of Xiangyang in Hubei issued as many as seven red rainstorm warnings on July 14, with water levels of 268 reservoirs breaching the upper limit.

The China Meteorological Administration activated rainstorm emergency response Level 2, the second-highest alert in a four-tier system, on July 16 for multiple provinces, including Henan, eastern Shandong, and southwestern Sichuan.

The southwestern, middle, and eastern parts of Henan were at the center of the flooding on July 15, with cities including Nanyang, Zhoukou, Zhumadian, Luohe, Xuchang, Kaifeng, and Shangqiu hit by extremely heavy rainfall.

Henan Meteorological Service forecasted heavy rains between the morning of July 16 and 17 for the Huanghuai region and parts of Xinxiang city.

In Nanyang City, Level I emergency response for flood control was activated at 08:00 LT on July 16 as heavy rains battered the city from July 14 to 15, according to the province’s flood control and drought relief headquarters.

According to NMC, nine locations in Henan ranked among the top 10 places with the largest volume of precipitation across China between 09:00 on July 15 and 08:00 on July 16.

As of 22:00 LT on July 15, 382 teams had been dispatched for drainage and rescue work, and 6 417 residents had been relocated.

Heavy rains will continue in the southern and eastern parts of Henan on July 16 and 17, and the cumulative precipitation in the southwestern part is expected to be extremely heavy, with a notable increase in intensity at night, said Tang Xiaojing, a meteorological analyst from weather.com.cn. The website also forecasted a storm for July 17.

References:

¹ Central China province issues second-highest rainstorm alert – Xinhua – July 16, 2024

² Record-breaking rainfalls hit cities in C.China’s Henan; Level-I flood control emergency response launched – GT – July 16, 2024

³ China places 15 provinces on emergency alert as deadly floods make their way north – SCMP – July 16, 2024

⁴ Weather forecast for Sheqi – Weather.com.cn – July 16, 2024

Rishav Kothari

I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.

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