Heavy rain disaster expands in China, flood response activated in 7 provinces

Central News Agency, Taipei, May 24. Heavy rains have continued for days across multiple Chinese provinces, with the disaster situation expanding. Following Jiangxi, Hubei, and Hunan, the Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level 4 flood defense emergency response for Anhui, Henan, Chongqing, and Shaanxi today, bringing the total to seven provinces. Chongqing has been hit particularly hard, with Yongchuan District recording 296.6 mm of rain in just two hours, leading to landslides and other geological disasters. As of 2:30 PM today, three deaths and 17 missing persons were reported. Two people are also missing in Beibei District. The National Development and Reform Commission has allocated 20 million RMB (approx. 92.55 million NTD) in emergency funds for disaster relief and infrastructure reconstruction in Chongqing.