China, Natural Disasters Adding Insult to Injury

Severe Flooding in Southern China After Over a Month of Continuous Heavy Rain
Hubei Province Experiences Earthquake, Raising Concerns Over Flood and Earthquake Damage

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] China is on high alert due to consecutive natural disasters including floods and earthquakes following the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

According to Chinese media such as the People's Daily on the 13th, the water level of Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province, China's largest freshwater lake, has exceeded the warning level and is facing the risk of flooding. As of the morning of the 12th, the water level of Poyang Lake rose to 22.75m, surpassing the warning level.

Not only Poyang Lake, but the water level of the Yangxinfu River in Hubei Province also exceeded the warning level by 23.7m, and the water level at the Yangtze River monitoring station reached 28.31m, which is 1m higher than the alert level. The monitoring station expressed concern that the water level could rise to 29.2m around the 16th.

With continuous heavy rain for over a month, 38 million people have been displaced across 27 southern provinces including Jiangxi, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. Chinese state-run CCTV estimated the damage to exceed 82.23 billion yuan (approximately 14 trillion Korean won).

China’s four major hydrological monitoring stations have already reported that the warning levels set during the 1998 great flood have been surpassed, raising concerns about a major flood in the southern region.

Adding to the flood crisis, an earthquake occurred in Hubei Province. According to China’s official earthquake measurement site, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck the Guye District of Tangshan City, Hebei Province at 6:38 AM on the 12th. The epicenter depth was measured at 10 km. This earthquake was also detected in parts of the Beijing metropolitan area. Aftershocks below magnitude 1.0 continue in the area, increasing anxiety.

As the situation rapidly escalated, President Xi Jinping personally took charge of disaster relief and countermeasure preparations.

President Xi encouraged, "We have entered a critical period for flood prevention," and urged, "The People's Liberation Army and police should actively participate in rescue operations."

Chinese authorities issued a red flood warning the previous day due to concerns over the potential flooding of Poyang Lake.

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