[Epoch Times, August 29, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Xu Jian comprehensive report) Sichuan, which has just suffered from a rare summer heat wave and drought, is now hit by heavy rains, which may bring flood risks. 29) Nearly 120,000 local people were urgently transferred to safety.
According to the meteorological forecast, from 8:00 on the 29th to 8:00 on the 30th, there will be heavy rain or heavy rain in southern Shaanxi, eastern and southwestern Sichuan Basin, western and northern Chongqing, central and western Henan, southern Shandong, and central and northern Jiangsu.
Chongqing, which is located in a hilly area that also overlooks the surrounding mountains and countryside, issued a flash flood warning for two consecutive days. Flash floods have occurred in 11 cities including Chengdu and Guangyuan.
But the official Xinhua news agency said China’s meteorological agency had maintained an orange warning for “drought” as high temperatures persisted in many parts of southern China. It is recommended to strictly save water and use emergency water sources to supply people and animals.
The Sichuan Provincial Emergency Management Bureau said Monday that 119,000 people in Sichuan had been moved to safer places. Mianyang, Guangyuan, Aba and other places have reported that at least 3,600 people were affected, but no news of geological disasters has been reported so far.
18.8 centimeters (7.4 inches) of rain were recorded in Yanhai Village, Lijiang Township, Cangxi County, part of Guangyuan City, one of the two worst-affected cities in Sichuan by drought.
The Sichuan Provincial Hydrology Center stated that due to the recent high temperature and drought, the water volume of the main rivers in the province is seriously low, and the Longmen Mountains and Western Sichuan Plateau in this round of heavy rainfall will experience a “drastic turn of droughts and floods”, which will easily lead to mountain streams and rivers. River floods erupted, causing geological disasters.
On the evening of the 28th, the Chongqing Municipal Water Conservancy Bureau launched a level IV emergency response to flood and drought disasters (floods) in 14 districts and counties including Chengkou, Wushan, and Wuxi, requesting to keep the bottom line of no casualties.
Changes in the weather have eased the hot weather. After two weeks of power cuts due to reduced electricity, CCTV claimed on its website that with the drop in temperature, rainfall replenished power generation reservoirs, and households’ demand for air conditioners has declined, Sichuan’s electricity shortage has been reduced. The situation gradually eased.
However, the problem of electricity consumption has not been completely solved. Zhao Hong, director of the Marketing Department of the Sichuan Electric Power Company of the CCP Power Grid, said that the daily electricity consumption of residents has dropped from the highest of 473 million kWh to 340 million kWh, adding that “the contradiction between power supply and demand in Sichuan will be reduced. It will be basically resolved in the next 3 days.”
The decline in electricity production has prompted Sichuan utilities to ramp up the use of coal-fired power plants, which have jumped from 10 percent to 25 percent of electricity generation, with 67 power stations operating at full capacity, according to China’s Caixin.
Responsible editor: Ye Ziwei#