Record Heavy Rain Expands Damage in China and Japan... China's Largest Freshwater Lake Water Level Hits All-Time High

Refugees evacuating due to floods in Jiangxi Province, China on the 8th [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] China and Japan are suffering damage due to record-breaking heavy rains. The water level of China's largest freshwater lake has reached an all-time high, and casualties are increasing in Japan as well.

According to Chinese online media Pengpai and others on the 12th, the water level of Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province, China's largest freshwater lake, rose to 22.75 meters as of 8 a.m. that day. This level is higher than the previous record of 14 cm set in 1998, and the water level continues to rise.

Authorities have judged that a major flood may occur in the Poyang Lake basin and issued a red flood warning for the area the day before.

Since the continuous heavy rains began on the 6th in Jiangxi Province, 5.21 million people have been affected, and 430,000 people have been urgently evacuated. Crops covering 455,000 hectares were damaged, and 988 houses were destroyed. According to China's state-run CCTV, the direct economic loss amounts to 6.5 billion yuan (approximately 1.115 trillion won). Among the 2,545 km of river and lake embankments in Jiangxi Province, 2,242 km have already exceeded the warning water level.

As flood damage is spreading in southern China, including Jiangxi Province, the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources has raised the emergency response level for disaster defense to level 2.

Casualties are also increasing in Japan. According to NHK and others, as of the morning of the 12th, 69 people have died, 13 are missing, and 1 is in cardiopulmonary arrest due to heavy rains centered on Kyushu that began on the 4th.

In Kumamoto Prefecture in central-western Kyushu, where casualties from river flooding and landslides have concentrated, 62 people have died and 6 are missing.

According to Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, during this rainy season, 101 rivers in 12 prefectures have overflowed, flooding at least 1,550 hectares (15.5 million square meters) of land. Cleanup activities have begun in areas affected by landslides and flooding, and search operations by police, fire departments, and the Self-Defense Forces to find missing persons are ongoing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.