Mass evacuation in China! Biblical rains wash away bridges and flood cities

China has been experiencing heavy and widespread downpours since the start of the rainy season, which runs from May to September. This has led to at least 20 floods on major rivers across the country. Moreover, 31 rivers exceeded the flood warning level. Earlier this week, China’s National Meteorological Center reissued a yellow alert for rainfall. More than 20 cars fell into the river after a road bridge collapsed in Shaanxi province. So far, rescuers have found the bodies of 15 dead. Thousands of rescuers and volunteers continue to search for missing people. Another disaster occurred on a river in Ya’an city, Sichuan province, severely damaging more than 40 houses in the village. Rescuers found the bodies of 14 people, and another 25 people are still missing. Rescuers are using drones and sniffer dogs to continue search and rescue efforts. In Dianjiang County in Chongqing, 270 mm of rain fell in one day, which is a record for one day there. This resulted in six deaths, more than 10,000 evacuations and 40,000 casualties. And also to serious disruptions in railway communications and transport due to flooding. Beijing’s Ministry of Water Resources issued additional warnings as water levels in Lake Tai rose to 3.9 meters, 0.1 meters above the warning level. Three Gorges Dam is on high alert for further flooding. The flow rate of water into the dam increased to 44,000 cubic meters per second. As a result, the water level rose 15 meters above normal, to 161.1 meters. Chinese authorities have announced the allocation of 350 million yuan to help rebuild the flood-hit provinces of Henan, Shaanxi and Sichuan. President Xi Jinping called for comprehensive rescue and relief efforts to protect lives and property.