China Faces Flood Damage Affecting 60 Million People This Year... Losses Exceed 30 Trillion Won

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim On-yu] It has been reported that over 60 million people in China have been affected by floods this summer.

According to Chinese media Pengpai on the 13th, China's disaster prevention authorities announced at a State Council Information Office press conference that 63.46 million people have suffered flood damage since June. Among them, 219 people have died or gone missing, and 4.006 million people have been evacuated urgently. Chinese authorities had previously reported 54.81 million flood victims on the 29th of last month, meaning the number increased by about 8 million in just over ten days.

The direct economic loss from this flood, including the collapse of 54,000 houses, is currently estimated at 178.96 billion yuan (approximately 30.5 trillion won). Authorities explained, "The number of flood victims and economic losses are 12.7% and 15.5% higher than the average of the past five years," but "deaths, missing persons, and house collapses are 54.8% and 65.3% lower, respectively."

Zhou Xueyuan, who concurrently serves as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Water Resources, stated that this year’s rainy season precipitation in the southern Yangtze River (Changjiang) and Huaihe River basins reached 759.2mm, with the rainy season lasting 62 days, marking the highest record since 1961. He also mentioned that large freshwater lakes including the Yangtze River, Huaihe River, and Taihu Lake have exceeded safe operating water levels, and floods exceeding warning levels occurred in 634 rivers nationwide. In China, the water level of the Three Gorges Dam in the Yangtze River basin rose to 164.5m on the 18th of last month, surpassing the previous highest level of 163.11m, raising concerns.

Recently, the water level of the Three Gorges Dam has been slightly declining, recording 153.74m as of 5 p.m. local time on the day. However, continuous rain across various parts of China means the situation is still not safe. According to Chinese meteorological authorities, heavy rain fell in Jing-Jin-Ji (the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region) on the 12th and 13th, causing damage such as uprooted trees. Heavy rain also fell in the upper Yangtze River basin areas including Sichuan Province and Chongqing.

From the 13th to 14th, heavy rainfall of 100 to 180mm is forecasted in border areas of northern China such as Liaoning Province and Jilin Province, as well as the Sichuan Basin.