Heavy rainstorms hit multiple regions in China, killing 3 and leaving 19 missing in Chongqing

Multiple regions across China on Sunday issued red alerts for rainstorms as heavy, prolonged torrential rain continued to batter the southern and central parts of China, which has resulted in flash flooding, landslides and mudslides. In particular, torrential rain in Southwest China's Chongqing has resulted in three deaths and at least 19 people missing, media reported on Sunday. 

An extreme rainstorm hit Chongqing's Yongchuan district from late Saturday to early Sunday morning, with rainfall in the Chashan Zhuhai community in the district reaching 296.6 millimeters from 2 am to 4 am and peak hourly rainfall of 103.6 millimeters. The sudden downpour had left three dead and 17 people missing as of 2:30 pm on Sunday, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Sunday. 

In addition, two people were also unaccounted for after the rain lashed Beibei district in the municipality, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Following the flooding, the flood control and drought relief headquarters at both the municipal and district levels in Chongqing swiftly activated emergency response measures, with over 400 personnel from public security, emergency response, and fire services deployed to the scene for rescue and emergency operations. 

Rescue operations were still underway at full scale as of press time. A total of 168 people have been evacuated and 82 have been relocated and resettled in emergency response efforts, CCTV reported. 

After consultation and risk assessment, the Chongqing flood control and drought relief headquarters decided to upgrade to a Level-I flood control emergency response at the city level in the Yongchuan district starting at 2 pm on Sunday. 

According to the municipal hydrological monitoring center, heavy rainfall has pushed water levels above warning marks at 37 monitoring stations on 22 small and medium-sized rivers across Chongqing, per CCTV. 

China's Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration jointly issued a red alert for flash flood disasters, forecasting very high risks of flash floods (red alert) in localized areas in western Anhui Province and eastern Hubei Province from 8 pm on Sunday to 8 pm on Monday, while other regions, including western Zhejiang, western and southern Anhui, northeastern Jiangxi, and eastern Hubei have a high risk of flash floods (orange alert) triggered by short-duration intense rainfall, China Central Television reported on Sunday.

In Central China's Hubei Province, the meteorological authority in Wuhan city issued a red rainstorm alert on Sunday morning, warning of over 100 millimeters of rainfall within three hours in some areas and risks of urban and rural waterlogging and geological disasters, and flooding in small and medium-sized rivers, and advising the suspension of public gatherings, classes, and business activities, the Hubei Daily reported on Sunday. 

This is the second red alert for rainstorms issued by Wuhan within a week, following another red alert released on the evening of May 18. Statistics show that Wuhan has issued a total of 14 rainstorm warnings over the past week, according to the Hubei Daily.