Floods in China in 2010 resulted in over 3,000 deaths.. Three hundred and ninety-two people died, and a further 232 people were reported missing as of June 30, 2010, including 57 people in a landslide in Guizhou. Fifty-three of the deaths occurred from the flooding and landslides between May 31 and June 3, and 266 deaths occurred between June 13 and June 29. Four hundred and twenty four people were killed by the end of June, including 42 from the Guizhou landslide; 277 more were killed and 147 were missing in the first two weeks of July, bringing the death toll as of August 5 to 1,072. A landslide in early August in Gansu killed at least 1,471 people and left 294 missing. In total, the flooding and landslides killed at least 3,185 people in China by August 31. More than people in 28 provinces, municipalities, and regions, especially the southern and central provinces and regions of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing Municipality, Gansu, Sichuan, and Guizhou, and the northeastern province of Jilin were affected, while at least people were evacuated because of the risk of flooding and landslides in the latter half of June.... By early August, over people were evacuated, and that number rose to 15.2 million by August 31.
Millions lacked drinking water. A total of 1.36 million houses were destroyed and more than of crops were inundated, while of farmland had been completely destroyed by the end of June. Dozens of rivers remained flooded, including the Pearl River in Guangdong province, which had been affected by severe drought during the spring as its outflow was severely reduced. The total damages from the floods were roughly 83.8 billion yuan as of June 27, 2010, and over yuan ( USD) by August 8. By late August, of farmland were affected by the flooding, while were completely destroyed.
In late May 2010, heavy rainfall caused a train derailment in Jiangxi, killing at least 19 people, and the closure of the Shanghai-Kunming railway line for 24 hours due to a landslide.
Many major rivers in China, including the Yangtze, Yellow, and Songhua Rivers were flooded to dangerous levels. The Chinese Government allocated over yuan for rescue and relief work. The Jialing River, Han River, and Huai River surged higher than warning levels.
Effects
The grim situation of the 2010 South China floods exceeded the levels of the 1998 Yangtze River floods.2010 China floods June 24, 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2010. The flooding attracted attention from the state leaders of the Chinese Government and the public, who brought aid to the victims of the flooding. The death toll from the floods continued to rise, as floodwaters began to recede in some areas by the end of June. Throughout the East Asian Monsoon season, the worst of the flooding shifted from Southwestern China to Central China by June and July and moved to Northern and Northeastern China by late July and August, leaving the southern provinces in a heat wave while the Northeastern and Northwestern provinces were continuously lashed by flooding rains. Unusual climate patterns were linked to the persistent flooding, including an El Niño-like Modoki, jet stream patterns (also possibly linked to low solar activity), deforestation worsening the landslides, and global warming.
Guizhou Province After experiencing severe drought, heavy rains triggered a landslide in Guizhou Province around 2:30 pm on June 28 that trapped 99 people in the village of Dazhai, Gangwu Township, Anshun. Ganwu received of rain on June 27, a record for the township, and the resulting landslide lasted two minutes and unleashed up to of mud and rock, burying at least 37 buildings and homes in Dazhai. Officials stated there was little hope for the survival of the buried victims, and the torrential rains were likely to continue. The rains hampered rescue efforts in the search for survivors from the 38 families buried by the landslide. Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu urged the use of all resources to rescue any survivors. The first body, a child, was found by rescue workers in the late afternoon of June 29.
More than 1,100 rescue workers searched to find the remaining victims, including up to 30 children and infants, and eight of the original missing turned up alive. By July 1, 10 bodies had been found at the site of the landslide, and 89 still missing and feared dead. At least 1,000 people were evacuated from the village after the landslide. A total of 42 bodies were found by June 29, and the remaining 57 missing were presumed dead.
Jiangxi Province Seventeen levees were breached in Jiangxi and 33,900 water conservancy projects were damaged. The direct economic loss is yuan. A breach of the Changkai dike on the Fuhe River, which burst its banks on June 21 and again on June 23, in Luozhen Township, Fuzhou City, forced people to evacuate. The breach was repaired on June 27. The local and provincial governments provided tents, quilts, blankets, clothing, and water dispensers to the affected residents. The flood crest of the Gan River passed the city of Nanchang on June 23.
Residents of the city of Ganzhou were protected from the flooding by drains built in the area during the Song dynasty.
Fujian Province In Fujian, 400 victims of flooding were safely transferred and properly rehoused. Seventy-six people were killed, and 79 were missing from landslides in the province by June 21. The village of Baozhuang was completely cut off for six days before rescue workers brought the residents to safety. More than ten consecutive days of rain hit Nanping, and factories were destroyed. The number of people affected totaled 1.3 million, damages totaled yuan, and 365,000 people were relocated. Flooding destroyed a bridge in the province on July 7, travel was disrupted in 20 counties, and the town of Taining was completely underwater at one point.
Guangxi Autonomous Region people in Guangxi were affected, with 37 deaths, 164.58 thousand hectares of crops affected, and 16,395 residential housings collapsed. The direct economic loss is about yuan, of which were agricultural losses.
On June 2, 42 people were killed in a series of landslides that hit Cenxi, Rong County, Teng County, Donglan County, and Fangchenggang City.
Anhui Province At least four million people have been affected in Anhui Province. 5,100 houses had collapsed, and a further 17,700 houses were damaged.
Gansu Province
Landslides in Zhugqu County, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province, late in the night on August 7 buried Yueyuan Village, a village of 300 families, killing 1,435 people, and leaving 330 others missing. The landslide buried half of Chengguan Township, the county seat, surrounding the village with water and destroying an area long, wide, and deep before water levels receded. About 45,000 people were evacuated from the site, and 1,243 others were rescued by the army and residents. Excavators and large rescue vehicles could not reach the scene because of landslides and floodwaters. Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in the county at on August 8. A power outage following the slide covered two-thirds of the county. The Bailong River was dammed by the landslide and started to overflow around on August 8, creating a landslide lake long, wide and deep, holding m3 of water and submerging parts of the town, forcing 19,000 people downstream. Demolition experts started working on the lake to release some of its water. The death toll continued to rise, and more rain fell in the area afterward, hampering relief efforts. A rare national day of mourning was held in China to remember the victims of the Gansu mudslide on August 15. There was speculation that the approximately 1,700 people made homeless by the landslides and relocated would have to spend the winter in tents.
On August 13, of torrential rain fell overnight and landslides hit Longnan City. As of August 17, there were 36 deaths and 23 missings. Evacuees totaling 122,835 were evacuated to emergency shelters, and 295 people were injured by the mudslides and landslides. In Tianshui, at least four people died. Over 10,600 people were evacuated from Longnan.
Sichuan Province The flooding affected 31.81 million people in Sichuan, including Luzhou city's 95 townships. The direct economic loss of Luzhou was about yuan. The total direct economic loss was about 6.89 billion yuan, and 25,000 homes were damaged in the flooding in August.
A landslide in the village of Wangong, Hanyuan County, left 21 people missing after burying 58 homes on July 27 and forcing 4,000 to evacuate.
In Mianzhu and Deyang, heavy rains started on August 12 and landslides hit on August 13, killing five people and trapping 500 more in an area devastated by the recent drought and the earthquake in 2008. Sixteen people were dead after the flooding and mudslides since August 13. Sixty-six were declared missing by August 20, including at least 38 in Wenchuan County. Ten thousand people were forced to evacuate. Further landslides killed 18 people, injured nine, and left four missing in Wenchuan and Qingchuan County. Landslides created a flood lake in Yingxing Township, and floodwaters deep covered a stretch of the only highway that links Wenchuan and Chengdu.
In Guanghan, a train traveling from Xi'an to Kunming along the Baoji-Chengdu Railway derailed after floods washed away a section of a bridge on August 19. Two carriages of the train were washed into the river after dangling for a few minutes, but all passengers were safely rescued.
Hunan Province People in 14 cities in Hunan were affected, and 25,300 houses collapsed at the time of the report. The province experienced its worst flooding since 2003. In late June, floodwaters threatened the major city of Changsha, as water levels rose above danger level, the highest in a decade, and the third-highest since 1953.
Hubei Province In Hubei, the Han River at Wuhan experienced its worst flooding in twenty years, as officials continued sandbagging efforts along the Han and Yangtze Rivers in the city and checked reservoirs.
Three Gorges Dam By July 20, the Yangtze River at the Three Gorges Dam experienced its highest river discharge since the dam was built. The dam's outflow released of water, with of the river flow held back behind the dam, after water levels in the Reservoir rose overnight. The reservoir water levels peaked at meters on the morning of July 23, whereas the "alarm level" of the reservoir was at . All ferry service in the Reservoir was halted as total flow rate exceeded , although the crest of the flooding passed the dam by July 24. A second peak in the river arrived at the dam on July 28, when the peak flow from the dam was a record 56,000 m3/s.
By early August, a thick layer of garbage covering and deep, including tree branches, plastic bottles, and domestic waste, had been swept into the reservoir since July and threatened to clog the shipping locks at the wall of the dam. Workers removed 3,000 tons of garbage daily, and the company responsible for the dam paid for of garbage to be removed annually.
Henan Province In the city of Luoyang, Henan, a bridge on the Yi River collapsed as onlookers crowded it to watch the flooding, 51 people were killed with 15 missings. Flooding also threatened the Longmen Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the city.
Guangdong Province In Huilai County in Guangdong, of rain fell in six hours, the fastest rainfall accumulation recorded there in approximately 50 years. Three deaths occurred in the province with two missings, while 550,000 people were affected and 80,000 relocated.
Jilin Province