Extreme rainfall and flooding covered vast areas of the country. The water in the reservoir of the world's largest hydroelectric power station, the Three Gorges, located on the Yangtze River in Hubei Province, rose 49.2 feet above normal. The water level reached 528.7 feet. On July 17, in Henan Province, water levels at 33 reservoirs exceeded critical levels. To prevent dam breaches, floodwaters had to be urgently released from the reservoirs. The released water flowed downstream and caused sudden devastating floods.
On the eve of July 16, 23.9 inches of rain fell in Dafengying village, Nanyang City, Henan Province, which is 75% of the annual norm of 31.5 inches. This amount of rain falling in just 24 hours seriously exacerbated the situation. On the same day, Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, received 7.2 inches of rain in 24 hours, exceeding one and a half months' worth of rainfall. This set a new local record for the daily amount of rain. Heavy rains flooded the city zoo, trapping animals.
On July 19, part of a car bridge on the Daning Expressway in Zhanshui County, Shaanxi Province, collapsed. At least 25 vehicles fell into the river. Villagers reported that a car with a man inside fell off the bridge and into the river. The man swam to the shore, hung on a tree branch, and cried for help. "The man couldn't stand because the water was very strong. He just lay on the branch and kept shouting. Then someone heard him and organized about ten people to pull him up with a rope," a villager said. According to the National Fire and Rescue Bureau, 15 people were found dead as of July 21, and dozens remain missing.
Prolonged flooding led to landslides in different regions of the country. On the morning of July 17, a large landslide occurred in Zigui County, Yichang Prefecture, Hubei Province. Footage posted on social media shows that the landslide initially occurred on the edge of a mountain and soon caused a large part of the mountain to slide down.
On July 20, rockfalls blocked roads to 13 villages in Shanglin County, Nanning Prefecture, Guangxi Province. Fortunately, there were no casualties. In Sichuan Province, abnormal rains led to severe flooding and landslides. In Zigou County, Leshan Prefecture, 80% of the streets were flooded. The water was as high as one story, leaving many shops devastated.
On July 19, a powerful sandstorm turned the sky in the city of Dunhuang in Gansu Province a murky yellow color. Strong winds carried sand through the air, and visibility was less than 328 feet.
On the night of July 22, Typhoon "Prapirun" hit southern China, bringing heavy rains and strong winds to Hainan Island. More than 3.9 inches of rain fell in 12 cities and counties within 24 hours, and wind gusts in Wanning City, Hainan Province, reached 85.5 miles per hour.
The National Committee for Disaster Reduction and Management provided a report on natural disasters in China for the first half of 2024. A total of 32.381 million people were affected by various natural disasters across the country, with 322 people dead and missing, and 856,000 people urgently relocated. Climate disasters destroyed 23,000 homes and damaged 78.4 million acres of crops. Economic losses in just six months exceeded $13 billion.
These statistics show that the situation with climate disasters in China is so critical that even a technically and economically advanced country like China is struggling to cope with their aftermath. It is worth noting that earlier, the global community was informed about the countries where living conditions would become almost impossible in the coming years due to devastating cataclysms. China, included in this list, only confirms this forecast with the rapid progression of natural disasters on its territory.
We encourage you to learn about the reasons for this increase in cataclysms in certain countries and worldwide, as well as the proposed solution for how we, as humanity, can prevent a climate collapse on the planet. You can find this information at the forum "Global Crisis. The Responsibility."