More People Missing, Thousands Evacuated as Northeast China Hit by More Floods

More People Missing, Thousands Evacuated as Northeast China Hit by More Floods
Flood waters cover Yanshou County of Harbin in northeastern China's Heilongjiang Province on Aug. 5, 2023. Gu Jingkun/Xinhua via AP
The Associated Press
Updated:

TAIPEI, Taiwan—Rain continued to pelt northeastern China in the wake of Typhoon Doksuri on Saturday, as authorities reported more fatalities and missing people while evacuating thousands more.

At least six people died and four went missing in the city of Shulan in Jilin province, which has seen five straight days of rainfall, according to state media.

A truck turned on its side is seen as flood waters flowing across roads and fields in Kaiyuan Town of Shulan in northeastern China's Jilin Province on Aug. 4, 2023. (Yan Linyun/Xinhua via AP)
A truck turned on its side is seen as flood waters flowing across roads and fields in Kaiyuan Town of Shulan in northeastern China's Jilin Province on Aug. 4, 2023. Yan Linyun/Xinhua via AP

Over 18,900 people were evacuated from the city of more than 700,000, according to the local disaster relief agency. State news agency China News Service showed images of waterlogged streets around homes and factories. The average precipitation in the city had reached 111.7 mm (4.4 inches) by Friday afternoon.

China is struggling with record-breaking rainfall in some areas while others suffer scorching summer heat and drought that threatens crops. The heavy rains—remnants of Typhoon Doksuri—have battered northern China since late July, disrupting the lives of millions. Flooding near Beijing and in neighboring Hebei province this week killed at least 22 people.

The actual number of casualties from such events may be much higher as the Chinese regime routinely suppresses or alters information.

In northeastern Heilongjiang province, which is known as China’s “great northern granary,” rain inundated farms and flooded streets, leading to the evacuation of thousands.

In the city of Shangzhi, heavy rainfall turned roads into rivers and inundated thousands of households.

National emergency management authorities said 25 rivers across Heilongjiang threatened to burst their banks, while disaster relief groups have been dispatched to the province.

In Heilongjiang’s capital of Harbin, more than 53,000 people had to be evacuated as multiple reservoirs and rivers exceeded safety levels while some 41,600 hectares (103,000 acres) of crops were damaged.

A bridge collapsed along the Harbin-Mudanjiang Highway in Heilongjiang due to flash floods triggered by heavy rains, with two cars falling into the river, state media reported Thursday.

In the city of Yushu in Jilin province, about 120 kilometers (74.5 miles) south of Harbin, flooding forced the evacuation of around 19,000 people.

Meanwhile, in Hebei province around Beijing, which saw some of the region’s worst flooding in the past few weeks, authorities issued fresh alerts for rainstorms on Saturday.

Floodwaters in Zhuozhou, southwest of Beijing, started to recede Saturday, state media reported, allowing some of the 125,000 evacuated residents to return to their homes.

The death toll in the 11 million-strong city of Baoding reached 10 while another 18 people are still missing, local authorities said Saturday.

Floods damaged roads and washed away bridges in the city’s Yesanpo Scenic Area, a national park known for its gorges and mountains.