Flooding Forecast for China’s Seven Major River Basins This Year

China’s Ministry of Water Resources has warned that the country’s seven major river basins will suffer flooding this year as the waters of 97 rivers have exceeded safety levels.

Since the start of May, rain has drenched many parts of southern and central China, with the waters of 97 small and midsize rivers exceeding warning levels, according to the Ministry of Water Resources (link in Chinese). The figure is up about 10% from May 2020.

Several rivers in southern China have swollen to their highest levels ever, and are continuing to rise, said Sun Chunpeng, director of the ministry’s hydrological information and forecast center. The Yangtze River, Asia’s longest, is expected to experience regional flooding.

China’s seven major basins are likely to suffer varying degrees of flooding this year. “We should prepare,” Sun said.

Some authorities have issued alerts ahead of the flood season, which typically lasts from June through August. The Yangtze River Water Resources Commission upgraded its emergency flood control response level for the Yangtze River basin on Monday after a continuous rise in its water levels.

Authorities in East China’s Jiangxi province, home to more than 45 million people, have issued (link in Chinese) a flood alert for Poyang Lake, the country’s largest freshwater lake, which is expected to rise above the warning level sometime over the next three days. In June, the lake’s water level reached 22.6 meters (72 feet), the highest ever and surpassing the previous record of 22.52 meters, which was set in 1998.

Although the situation is currently under control, it remains possible that the flooding will get worse, said Wang Wei, director of the ministry’s flood and drought disaster prevention office’s technical information division.

Currently, 47 reservoirs in the Yangtze River basin, including the Three Gorges Reservoir, have been preparing for this year’s flood season, Wang said.

During last year’s flood season, the water level at the world’s largest hydroelectric dam reached 167.65 meters, the highest since its construction.

China suffered devastating flooding last year that left at least 119 dead or missing. More than 400 rivers across the country exceeded warning levels in 2020, the state-run broadcaster CGTN reported. The water levels of 33 of those rivers hit record highs.

A previous version of this story gave the incorrect month for when Poyang Lake’s waters eached 22.6 meters. It was last June.

Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)

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