On June 19, heavy rainfall hit Longshan County, Hunan Province, causing flooding in the Longling International Community garage and leaving at least 4 vehicle owners missing.
According to the report by the Xinjing News on June 19, an owner in the Longling International Community revealed that in the early morning of the 19th, the water level in the garage rose too fast, and owners who were moving their vehicles couldn’t evacuate in time.
The Fengyang Community Committee told the media that four people were confirmed missing, and the county had mobilized forces for pumping and drainage.
A resident of the Longling International Community informed the Red Star News that she lived in Building 6 of the community. At 5:56 on the 19th, the property management sent a message to all owners in the building group to move their cars to the underground garage. However, when she went down at 7 o’clock, she found the garage was almost completely flooded. She said, “When the message was sent, it was already flooded. When I went downstairs, the water was almost reaching the first-floor elevator.”
The owner mentioned that she hadn’t seen her own car and many others in the group said there were vehicles parked in the underground garage that had not been moved.
According to the latest information from the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources on June 19, due to heavy rainfall, the Lishui River in the middle reaches of the Dongting Lake water system in Hunan experienced floods exceeding the warning level. The upper reaches of the main stream saw the largest flood since 1998. At 13:40 on June 19, the flood peak level at Sangzhi Hydrological Station in the upper reaches of the Lishui River reached 262.38 meters, exceeding the guaranteed level of 260.00 meters by 2.38 meters, with a corresponding flow rate of 7300 cubic meters per second, the largest flood since 1998.
According to the local meteorological department in Longshan County, from 8:00 on June 18 to 8:00 on June 19, the county experienced extreme heavy rainfall with 21 townships (streets) and 40 sites recording heavy rain, averaging 136.3 millimeters of precipitation. Among them, 13 sites had heavy rainfall and 10 had severe rainfall.
By 9 a.m. on the 19th, 19 reservoirs were releasing floodwaters, and the water level of the Guoli River in the county town rose by 9.57 meters, far exceeding historical flood levels. Over 600 households along Xinglong Street and Min’an Street were flooded, and the small river Washui River exceeded the warning level once. Due to the flood, from 7 a.m. on the 19th, the Shigao Water Plant was unable to supply water normally, causing a water supply interruption in the county town.
Several residents of Longshan County told the Red Star News on the 19th that there was still rainfall in the county, with multiple underground garages in residential areas flooded and vehicles washed away on the roads. In addition, as the high school entrance examination was taking place at the time, there was concern about the impact on the students’ exams.