BEIJING (AP) — More than 100,000 people had moved to safer areas by Monday as heavy rains brought flood risks to a region of southwest China that was devastated by a heatwave and drought for most of the summer.
Heavy rain was forecast for parts of Sichuan province and Chongqing city through at least Tuesday. Chongqing, a megacity built in a hilly area and that also oversees the surrounding mountains and countryside, issued a flash flood warning for both days.
But China’s meteorological agency maintained a national orange alert for drought, the second highest level, as the heat persisted in many parts of the country’s south, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It recommended strict water conservation and using emergency water sources to supply people and livestock.
The Sichuan emergency management administration said Monday that 119,000 people have been evacuated. One village under the jurisdiction of Guangyuan city recorded 18.8 centimeters (7.4 inches) of rain, state broadcaster CCTV said. The city was one of two in Sichuan most affected by the drought.
A national level IV emergency response for floods, the lowest in a four-tier system, is in effect in Sichuan, Chongqing and neighboring Gansu and Shaanxi provinces to the north. The hard, sunbaked soil left by the heatwave increases the risk of natural disasters when it rains, the official Xinhua News Agency said.