Rain-induced floods prompt Sichuan alert

Xinhua

Southwest China’s Sichuan Province on Tuesday activated the highest level of flood control response for the first time on record, as rain-induced floods ravaged parts of the province.

The province’s flood control and drought relief headquarters raised the response to Level I, the highest in the four-tier emergency response system, at 5am on Tuesday.

The Ya’an section of the Qingyi River was hit by a major flood rarely seen in a hundred years, while water levels in the entire Qingyi River basin, as well as the lower reaches of Dadu River and Minjiang River, are expected to exceed warning levels.

The Jiuzhaigou National Park, also known as the Jiuzhai Valley, a UNESCO world heritage site famed for its spectacular waterfalls, lush forests, serene plateau lakes and karst rock formations in the mountainous areas of Sichuan, announced temporary closure due to safety concerns.

Incessantly torrential rainfall has blocked roads to the scenic spot, with part of the area flooded by a river, according to the site’s administration.

Water levels in the main streams of Baishuijiang, Baihe and Tangzhu rivers in Jiuzhaigou County crossed historic highs, with dikes breached in some sections and arterial traffic cut off, the county’s flood control and drought relief headquarters said.

Floods also affected the Leshan Giant Buddha, another UNESCO world heritage site situated outside the city of Leshan. Flood water reached the toes of the Buddha statue for the first time after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.

On Monday night, local police and scenic spot staff placed sandbags at the platform under the Buddha’s feet, building a dam-like structure to protect the statue. However, as the water level rose rapidly, the flood water had already overflowed the toes of the statue by around 10am Tuesday.

There is an old saying in Leshan — the city will be flooded entirely when the Giant Buddha’s feet are flooded.

Leshan has activated its highest-level flood control response.

The Buddha statue, carved into a cliff in Leshan Mountain and overlooking three converging rivers, was built over a 90-year period starting in the year 713, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

The neighboring Chongqing City also declared the highest-level flood control emergency

China has seen unusually high levels of rain this flood season, with southwest and central regions in the Yangtze River basin bearing the brunt of flooding.

The Ministry of Water Resources said on Monday that 38 tributaries on the upper reaches of the Yangtze were now higher than their warning levels, 19 dangerously so.

Downriver in Hubei Province, officials at the Yangtze River Water Resources Commission warned that the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydroelectric project, would see the largest inflow of water in its 14-year history.

Elsewhere, approaching Typhoon Higos was expected to make landfall on Wednesday on the southern coast. Hainan Province has issued a typhoon alert, demanding fishing boats to return to harbors.