Water levels rise in twin rivers amid heavy rains

WATER levels in the Yangtze River and the Yellow River are rising as intense downpours continue.

Branches of the Yangtze in its upper reaches have braced for severe floods. Local authorities said the second flood peak of the Yangtze — the longest river in China — this year is forming in its upper reaches.

Peak flow at the Three Gorges reservoir was expected to reach 58,000 cubic meters per second yesterday, according to the hydrographic office of the Yangtze River water resources commission.

The office issued an orange alert for floods on Wednesday.

China has a four-tier colorcoded weather warning system, with red the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

The flood control and drought relief headquarters of the Yangtze also organized emergency response teams on Wednesday afternoon and worked with reservoirs in the upper reaches of the river to reduce the pressure that floods have brought to southwestern Sichuan Province and Chongqing City.

So far, around 52,000 Chongqing residents have been relocated to safer places.

Train services on the Xi’anChengdu Railway, linking Shaanxi and Sichuan provinces, were suspended yesterday due to rising water levels in Fujiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze, according to China Railway Chengdu Group Co Ltd.

The local meteorological department said storms will hit the area today and tomorrow.

Water levels in the Yellow River, China’s second-longest waterway, and its branches continue to rise after the first flood peak came days ago.

The flood control and drought relief headquarters of the Yellow River has called for relevant departments in Qinghai, Gansu, Shanxi and Shaanxi as well as Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions to prepare for the flood by evacuating potentially affected people and strengthening the monitoring of reservoirs and dams.

Meanwhile, thousands of armed police have been mobilized for flood relief in provinces affected by Typhoon Maria and heavy rain in the country’s central and southern regions.

Among them, 1,330 were dispatched to facilitate relief in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces on Wednesday when Typhoon Maria made landfall in Fujian, bringing downpours over vast areas. Another 831 soldiers were sent to Sichuan. A total of 2,147 residents have been evacuated in the three provinces.