China places 15 provinces on emergency alert as deadly floods make their way north
- Second-highest rainstorm emergency alert issued as China enters peak rainy season lasting well into August
On Sunday, four people were killed 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 had issued a red rainstorm alert, the most severe level on a four-tier warning system, and recorded up to 150mm (nearly 6 inches) of rain on the day, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The city of Xiangyang, also in Hubei, issued as many as seven red rainstorm warnings on Sunday, with water levels of 268 reservoirs breaching the upper limit, local authorities said.
02:02
China’s Yangtze River floods for first time in 2024, hits some areas hardest in 25 years
The China Meteorological Administration on Tuesday activated rainstorm emergency response Level 2, the second-highest alert in a four-tier system, for provinces including Henan, Shandong in the east and Sichuan in the southwest.
