On June 27, 2024, more than 34 rivers in 6 provinces (autonomous regions) in mainland China, including Hunan, experienced floods exceeding the warning level. The flood peak of the Xiang River was passing through Changsha, causing multiple train services in Hunan to be suspended. The water level at the Xingzi Station on Poyang Lake exceeded the warning level, and the Jinjiang tributary of the Gan River witnessed the largest flood since actual records began.
The Ministry of Water Resources of the Chinese Communist Party reported on the morning of the 27th that as of 8 a.m., 34 rivers in regions including Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Heilongjiang, and Ningxia had experienced floods exceeding the warning level.
The Jinjiang tributary of the Gan River saw the largest flood ever recorded, while the main stream of the Ussuri River from Hutou to Raohe, and the Dania River tributary of the Lalin River, experienced floods exceeding the guaranteed water level.
The warning water level, also known as the flood warning water level, refers to the water level of rivers, streams, and lakes rising above a level where dangerous situations could occur within the watercourse. The guaranteed water level is the highest flood level that ensures the safe operation of flood control works or protection areas. When the flood exceeds the guaranteed water level, flood control enters a state of emergency, requiring not only urgent risk prevention and diversion measures but also preparation for personnel evacuation.
According to the Jiujiang Daily on the 27th, Poyang Lake, the largest freshwater lake in China, saw the water level at the iconic hydrological station of Xingzi Station reaching 19.01 meters at 6:50 a.m. on the 27th, exceeding the warning water level by 0.01 meters, with further expected rising water levels.
The report stated that from 6 a.m. on the 18th, the water level at the Xingzi Station rose from 15.92 meters to 19.01 meters by 6:50 a.m. on June 27, a rise of over 3 meters in 9 days.
On the 27th, CCTV of the Chinese Communist Party reported that as of 8:40 a.m., the water level at Songhu Section of Jinjiang River in Xinjian District, Nanchang City, Jiangxi has reached 29.23 meters, surpassing the historical peak of 28.91 meters in 1993, and is expected to exceed 29.9 meters within the next 14 hours. Once the water level in this section exceeds 30 meters, a large-scale evacuation of personnel will be necessary in towns such as Songhu in Xinjian District.
The Hunan Daily reported that starting around 2 a.m. on June 27, the water level of the Xiang River in Changsha reached 37.12 meters, exceeding the warning water level by 1.12 meters. By 8 a.m. on the 27th, the water level remained around 37.13 meters, and the flood peak of the Xiang River was passing through Changsha.
From 7 a.m. on the 26th to 7 a.m. on the 27th, 12 stations in Hunan province experienced floods exceeding the warning level, all along the Xiang River.
The official Weibo account of the Changsha Railway Section of the Guangzhou Railway Group announced that due to the impact of rainfall, several trains within the Changsha Railway Section were suspended on June 27. This includes trains such as K158, K435, K769 on the Beijing-Guangzhou line, K1095, K1375, K73 on the Shichang line, and G6520, D7477, D7452 on the Chongqing-Xiamen high-speed rail.
The Zhejiang Provincial Department of Water Resources of the Chinese Communist Party stated via official WeChat account on the 27th that by 9:05 a.m., the water level at Jiaxing Station in the Canal System had reached 2.00 meters, meeting the criteria for flood numbering. This marked the first numbered flood of the year in the Canal System. With concentrated rainfall forecasted in the next 24 hours, the water level at Jiaxing Station is expected to rise further.
In Chun’an County in the southwestern part of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and within the jurisdiction of Jiande City, the Xin’an River Reservoir continued to discharge floodwater. On the 27th, the Jiande City government announced that at 3 p.m., the discharge capacity of the Xin’an River Reservoir was increased from 3 gates to 5 gates.
Additionally, according to the Hydrological and Water Resource Center of Heilongjiang Province on the 26th, 7 monitoring stations along 4 major rivers in the province showed water levels exceeding the warning level by 0.18 to 1.30 meters. 51 reservoirs in the province were operating beyond flood limits by 0.01 to 4.21 meters, including 4 large-scale, 9 medium-sized, and 38 small-scale reservoirs.