Beijing, China:
Chinese weather forecasters warned several provinces on Monday that torrential rains and floods are expected over the next two days as incessant downpours lashed the country.
More than 3,000 people were evacuated over the weekend in northwestern Hunan province, according to state media, as heavy rains lashed Songzhi, Shimen and Yongshun counties and the city of Zhangjiajie.
According to state broadcaster China Central Television, Songzhi recorded its heaviest rainfall this year, with maximum rainfall reaching 256 mm (10.07 inches) overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
CCTV said it was the most extensive and widespread rainfall in Sanjhi since 1998.
China has been hit by weeks of rain and flooding amid an unusually hot summer. In late July, the storm surge of Typhoon Dokusari brought record rainfall to China in more than a decade, with Beijing receiving the heaviest rainfall in 140 years.
The Chinese government has called for increased flood precautions as Typhoon Saola is now entering the South China Sea, and is expected to make landfall in Guangdong province as early as this Friday.
China’s State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management held a video conference last Saturday, warning that heavy rains lashed many parts of the country, including mountainous torrential downpours and flooding of some small and medium-sized rivers. Geological disasters can happen. State media People’s Daily reported.
There is also uncertainty over Typhoon Saola’s path, the China Meteorological Administration said, but it will bring heavy rainfall to coastal areas including Fujian and Zhejiang provinces from Wednesday to Friday.
Local media reported on Monday that Fujian has launched an emergency response to Saola, ordering fishing boats in some waters to return to nearby ports and all personnel on board to get off the coast by Wednesday afternoon. Ordered to withdraw.
