An aerial drone photo taken on July 27, 2025 shows people visiting the Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River in Jixian County, north China's Shanxi Province. Hukou waterfall is witnessing an increasing water flow lately. (Photo: Xinhua)

China's Ministry of Water Resources said the first flood of 2025 is expected along the Yellow River, as recent rainfall triggered above-warning-level floods in its tributaries, the Fenhe River and Weihe River, according to a statement released by the ministry's official WeChat account on Sunday. The Yellow River water conservancy committee has launched a Level IV emergency response for Central China's Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces.

According to monitoring data from hydrological stations on the Fenhe and Weihe rivers, tributaries of the middle reaches of the Yellow River, and the main stream of the middle Yellow River, recent rainfall has caused above-warning-level floods. The Yellow River is expected to experience its first flood of 2025 on Monday, with peak flows reaching around 6,000 cubic meters per second aroundWednesday, the statement said.

Li Guoying, minister of water resources, also deputy commander-in-chief of the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, has called for heightened vigilance in flood control across the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. During the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, Li presided over special consultations and deployed prevention measures.

The Ministry of Water Resources has been conducting daily consultations and dynamic flood control arrangements. At 8 pm on Sunday, it activated a Level-IV flood emergency response for Shanxi, Henan, and Shaanxi provinces, urging local authorities to strengthen on-duty monitoring, closely track weather changes, provide timely forecasts and warnings, and carry out precise flood control operations. The ministry also dispatched three working groups to assist flood control efforts in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, according to the statement.

Earlier, the Yellow River water conservancy committee launched a Level-IV emergency response for Shanxi and Shaanxi on Saturday and expanded it to Henan Province on Sunday, coordinating reservoir operations at some villages to retain floodwater and reduce peak flow.

Separately, local department of water resources in Shanxi activated a Level-IV response for the Fenhe River basin on Saturday. Local department of water resources in Shaanxi also issued a Level-IV response for the Weihe River on Sunday and upgraded it to Level-III later that day to better respond to the ongoing flood situation along the Yellow River.

Global Times