On June 7th, the first day of the national college entrance examination in mainland China, the Ministry of Water Resources of China initiated a level IV emergency response for flood defense in six provinces, including Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi. Among these provinces, the situation in Hechuan, Chongqing was particularly severe, with floodwaters reaching depths exceeding 2 meters.
According to the China Meteorological Administration’s orange rainstorm warning issued today (June 7th), the forecasted heavy rain covers a wide area, extending from central and southern Chongqing to the southeastern parts of Guizhou, including some regions of Qiannan Prefecture and Southeastern Qiandongnan Prefecture, where heavy rain and locally severe rainstorms are expected. Some areas in Guizhou could experience daily rainfall of 250 to 330 millimeters. Hechuan, Chongqing has already issued a red rainstorm warning for today.
The meteorological department has forecasted that from June 6th to 9th, there will be another round of heavy rainfall in the southern regions, with some areas of Chongqing, Guizhou, and others experiencing heavy to severe rainstorms, with possible local severe rainstorms. The risks of flash floods, geological disasters, flooding of medium and small rivers, as well as urban flooding, are high.
Local residents in Hechuan, Chongqing reported that the rain started before dawn on June 7th and continued as heavy rain for several hours. One resident stated, “Within half an hour of the rain starting, the recreational area in our community was flooded. Less than an hour later, the dried-up pond was filled with water. The sound of dripping water was everywhere after such continuous heavy rainfall.”
Reports indicate that this year, there are 7,204 college entrance examination candidates in Hechuan, Chongqing, distributed across three exam centers including Hechuan Middle School, Ruishan Middle School, and Yucai Vocational Education Center, with a total of 241 examination rooms. Nationally, there are 12.9 million college entrance examination candidates.
Some local residents expressed their distress, saying, “All the exam candidates were completely drenched this morning when they went to take the exam.” Another resident mentioned, “The road to the bus station across from me was completely flooded.”
Some parents of the exam candidates mentioned that their shoes were soaking wet, and their pant legs were also drenched.
There were even reports of students swimming to the exam venue in videos being circulated on social media.
Videos also showed the harrowing scene of a child and an adult being washed away by floodwaters, with local news claiming that they had been rescued. Despite such weather conditions, state media reported that the exam centers were unaffected, and the exams proceeded as scheduled.
Some netizens expressed dissatisfaction, questioning why the exams couldn’t be postponed for a couple of days.
According to the cover story of the Chinese media, on the first day of the college entrance examination, Hechuan, Chongqing faced torrential rain, with floodwaters reaching depths of over 2 meters in some areas.