Staff transport relief supplies in Shimen county, Central China's Hunan Province. Photo: VCG

Local authorities on Wednesday continued rescue and relief operations, including activating flood emergency response and distributing relief supplies, as severe rainfall persisted in Central China's Hunan and Hubei provinces, as well as Southwest China's Guizhou Province.

China has launched a Level-IV flood emergency response in Hunan after continuous heavy rains lashed Shimen county in Changde, leaving five people dead and 11 others missing, with rescue operations underway, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday. 

The severe downpour, the first major round of torrential rains this year, began at 7 am on Sunday. A total of 23 townships and districts have been affected, impacting 103,247 residents, Xinhua reported, citing the county's emergency response and work safety committee.

The National Development and Reform Commission said on Wednesday that it has allocated 50 million yuan ($7.31 million) from the central government's investment budget to support post-flood emergency recovery efforts in Hunan, including the emergency restoration of damaged roads, bridges and other infrastructure, as well as public service facilities such as schools and hospitals in the affected areas, in a bid to restore normal production and daily life as soon as possible, according to China Central Television (CCTV) News.

In response to rain-triggered floods in Hubei on Wednesday, the office of China's national commission for disaster prevention, reduction and relief, together with the Ministry of Emergency Management and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration, allocated 15,000 items of central disaster relief supplies to the province. The supplies include summer quilts, foldable tables and chairs, and household emergency kits to support local authorities in resettling disaster-affected people and ensuring their basic living needs, according to the CCTV News.

In Guizhou Province, as of 10 am on Wednesday, initial verification showed that amid the ongoing downpours, a total of 1,456 people from 482 households have been urgently relocated across Majiang county, with three people confirmed dead, another CCTV News report said.

Damaged roads and communication lines are being restored at full speed, and basic living needs of affected residents are well guaranteed. Detailed disaster data is still being compiled and verified, read the report.

Besides, rainstorm warnings have been issued on Wednesday for South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Guangdong Provinces, as well as East China's Anhui Province.

According to meteorological experts, this round of torrential rains is mainly caused by a circulation pattern similar to that seen during the plum rain season, the CCTV News said in a Wednesday article.

On one hand, the subtropical high over the South China Sea has shifted unusually far north, steadily channeling warm, moist air from the Indochina Peninsula and the South China Sea into southern China. Meanwhile, cold air masses driven by cyclonic activity have drifted southward, colliding with the warm, humid currents over the regions.

Meanwhile, eastward-moving plateau troughs have created favorable dynamic uplifting conditions, further destabilized the atmosphere and fueled the heavy rains, CCTV reported, citing meteorological experts, adding that the superposition of three weather systems has kept rainbands lingering over affected regions, prolonged rainfall periods and triggered intense localized rainstorms.

Global Times