{"id":60042818,"date":"2024-07-18T09:28:47","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T08:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=news_digest&#038;p=60042818"},"modified":"2024-07-18T09:28:53","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T08:28:53","slug":"the-heavy-toll-of-flooding-since-january","status":"publish","type":"news_digest","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/the-heavy-toll-of-flooding-since-january\/","title":{"rendered":"The heavy toll of flooding since January"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In the first half of this year, natural disasters affected over 32 million people in China, according to data <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mem.gov.cn\/xw\/yjglbgzdt\/202407\/t20240712_494600.shtml#:~:text=%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%EF%BC%8C%E6%9A%B4%E9%9B%A8%E6%B4%AA%E6%B6%9D%E5%92%8C,%E7%BB%8F%E6%B5%8E%E6%8D%9F%E5%A4%B1592%E4%BA%BF%E5%85%83%E3%80%82&amp;text=%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%EF%BC%8C%E8%A5%BF%E5%8D%97%E3%80%81%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%97%E3%80%81,%E8%8C%83%E5%9B%B4%E5%B9%BF%EF%BC%8C%E5%91%88%E6%95%A3%E5%8F%91%E6%80%81%E5%8A%BF%E3%80%82\">released<\/a> by the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) on 12 July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They resulted in 322 deaths and missing persons and caused direct economic losses of CNY 93 billion (USD 13 billion), the MEM stated. In the same period in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mem.gov.cn\/xw\/yjglbgzdt\/202307\/t20230707_455762.shtml#:~:text=%E6%80%BB%E4%BD%93%E4%B8%8A%EF%BC%8C%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E6%B4%AA%E6%B6%9D,%E5%9C%A8%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%97%E3%80%81%E8%A5%BF%E5%8D%97%E7%AD%89%E5%9C%B0%E5%8C%BA%E3%80%82&amp;text=%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%EF%BC%8C%E5%85%A8%E5%9B%BD%E5%85%B1%E5%87%BA%E7%8E%B019%E6%AC%A1%E5%BC%BA%E5%AF%B9%E6%B5%81%E5%A4%A9%E6%B0%94,5%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%8C%E6%9C%9F%E5%9D%87%E5%80%BC%E4%B8%8B%E9%99%8D%E3%80%82\">2023<\/a>, the number of dead and missing was 95, and direct losses were CNY 38.23 billion (USD 5.26 billion).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The disasters have included heavy snowfall, earthquakes, landslides and mudslides in south-western regions, and floods in the Yellow River basin and in southern provinces, as Reuters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/natural-disasters-china-caused-13-bln-economic-loss-january-june-2024-07-12\/\">reported<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Flooding caused by heavy rain has been the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mem.gov.cn\/xw\/yjglbgzdt\/202407\/t20240712_494600.shtml#:~:text=%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%EF%BC%8C%E6%9A%B4%E9%9B%A8%E6%B4%AA%E6%B6%9D%E5%92%8C,%E7%BB%8F%E6%B5%8E%E6%8D%9F%E5%A4%B1592%E4%BA%BF%E5%85%83%E3%80%82&amp;text=%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%EF%BC%8C%E8%A5%BF%E5%8D%97%E3%80%81%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%97%E3%80%81,%E8%8C%83%E5%9B%B4%E5%B9%BF%EF%BC%8C%E5%91%88%E6%95%A3%E5%8F%91%E6%80%81%E5%8A%BF%E3%80%82\">primary culprit<\/a>, responsible for 230 of the 322 deaths and missing persons. Of 856,000 people relocated during emergencies, 742,000 were due to floods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This year\u2019s flooding came earlier and more fiercely than in previous years, <a href=\"https:\/\/china.caixin.com\/2024-07-12\/102215497.html#:~:text=%E3%80%90%E8%B4%A2%E6%96%B0%E7%BD%91%E3%80%912024%E5%B9%B4,%E4%BC%9A%E6%8A%AB%E9%9C%B2%E4%BA%86%E5%89%8D%E8%BF%B0%E6%83%85%E5%86%B5%E3%80%82\">noted<\/a> Xu Xianbiao, deputy head of the MEM\u2019s State Flood Control and Drought Relief HQ. \u201cEarly warning is currently the most effective method for mitigating flood disaster,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than <a href=\"https:\/\/m.chinanews.com\/wap\/detail\/chs\/zw\/10250121.shtml\">1 million<\/a> \u201cdisaster information officers\u201d are currently deployed throughout China, to gather information, issue early warnings and assist with evacuations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mid-July to mid-August is a critical period for flood prevention in China. Since 10 July, the Three Gorges Dam has started flood discharges to make space for incoming flow from the Yangtze\u2019s upper reaches, as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.news.cn\/20240710\/d4d6db49e5d143d9a27f7b0c1d820143\/c.html\">reported<\/a> by Xinhua.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 15 July, the downpours have been gradually moving northward, with heavy rainfall concentrated in a band from Sichuan to central eastern China, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.cctv.com\/2024\/07\/17\/ARTIWYXYxIbjYj8nJU6OFpF3240717.shtml\">CCTV<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Xu <a href=\"https:\/\/china.caixin.com\/2024-07-12\/102215497.html#:~:text=%E3%80%90%E8%B4%A2%E6%96%B0%E7%BD%91%E3%80%912024%E5%B9%B4,%E4%BC%9A%E6%8A%AB%E9%9C%B2%E4%BA%86%E5%89%8D%E8%BF%B0%E6%83%85%E5%86%B5%E3%80%82\">told<\/a> the press conference that these northern regions, previously affected by drought, face a high risk of flash floods. \u201cDue to the weaker flood-control awareness and capabilities in the northern region, the relevant departments will strictly enforce the early warning system and transfer people in time to ensure their safety,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent years, extreme weather events have become frequent and recurrent due to climate change and human activities, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/mp.weixin.qq.com\/s\/LmBHNIOn9CgIyL7Z-E2gjw\">Ministry of Water Resources<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Read Dialogue Earth\u2019s <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/china-northern-floods-show-need-for-climate-adaptation-strategy\/\"><em>analysis<\/em><\/a><em> from last year on China\u2019s need for a long-term climate adaptation strategy.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the first half of this year, natural disasters affected over 32 million people in China, causing direct economic losses of USD 13 billion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60006649,"template":"","categories":[761],"tags":[519,20000192,543],"country":[20000110],"digest-collection":[50039911],"class_list":["post-60042818","news_digest","type-news_digest","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","tag-climate-impacts","tag-disasters","tag-extreme-weather","country-china"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The heavy toll of flooding since January | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the first half of this year, natural disasters affected over 32 million people in China, causing direct economic losses of USD 13 billion\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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