Full of West Lake in 3 minutes! How severe are the floods in Chongqing?

This flood is the largest flood peak since 1981 after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Many scenic spots such as Hongyadong, Chaotianmen, and Ciqikou in Chongqing were flooded. Chongqing has launched the first level I flood control emergency response in its history and has entered an emergency flood control period.

According to reports, from August 18 to 20, this year’s Yangtze River Flood No. 5 and Jialing River Flood No. 2 successively passed through the main urban area of ??Chongqing. According to real-time monitoring data released by the Hydrology and Water Resources Survey Bureau in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the peak flood level at the Cuntan Hydrological Station in the Yangtze River reached 191.62 meters at 8:15 on the 20th, exceeding the historical extreme value of 191.41 meters in 1981. The peak flow rate is as high as 74,600 cubic meters/second. The storage capacity of West Lake in Hangzhou is 14.29 million cubic meters. Based on this calculation, a 3-minute peak flow can fill almost the entire West Lake. The flood caused flooding in many riverside roads, bridges, docks, and waterfront parks and squares in Chongqing. The floodwaters overflowed the highway and flooded the first-floor buildings along the street. Many roads in Ciqikou Ancient Town were flooded, and the floodwaters approached the third floors of shops facing the street. To this end, Chongqing traffic patrol police have successively implemented traffic control on some road sections. At the same time, functional lighting and landscape lighting on some urban roads have also been temporarily unable to turn on.

The main reason why Chongqing is prone to floods is due to the influence of climatic conditions. In June this year, Chongqing had a lot of rainfall, and the precipitation was much higher than in previous years. Moreover, the heavy rains were very concentrated, mainly in Qijiang, Wujiang, and Youjiang. Several rivers on the south bank of the Yangtze River including the Yangtze River, it rained almost every day in Hubei Province, and the water levels of the Yangtze River and all its tributaries surged, eventually forming the highest flood peak in history. Chongqing has a dense river network and numerous water systems, making it easy for water levels to rise due to heavy rainfall.

In the face of floods, there must be no slacking off and no room for error. We must resolutely relocate people and property in threatened areas, do a good job in flood prevention and disaster relief, and put the safety of people's lives first.