Flood water on the Bac Giang River - the southern branch of the Chau Giang River - is expected to peak at 37.3 meters at 1:00 a.m. on April 22, about 5.8 meters above the warning line, the flood control and natural disaster prevention agency of Quang Dong province warned from the afternoon of April 21.
The storm and flood situation at 20 monitoring stations along the Bac Giang River has exceeded the warning level since the evening of April 20.
Severe storms have affected the northern and western part of Quang Dong since April 19, breaking records for rainfall in April in many places.
Thanh Vien, Thieu Quan, Hue Chau cities and the capital of Guangzhou were particularly severely affected, leading to flood and storm warnings for 3 consecutive days.
According to the National Meteorological Center of China, most of the affected areas have seen 200-350mm of rain since early April.
At 8:00 a.m. on April 21, Thieu Quan recorded 584.4mm of rainfall in the month, much higher than the record of 417mm in April last year.
Dozens of hail and thunderstorm warnings took effect across Quang Dong province over the weekend, including orange warnings for Guangzhou, Dongxue, Yangjiang and Yangson district in Thanh Vien.
Orange is the second highest warning level in China's 4-level typhoon warning system.
According to China's latest weather forecast, heavier rain will hit across Guangdong - one of the most populous provinces in the country - in the next 3 days, with northern Guangdong most severely affected.
In the central and northern part of Quang Dong, northeast of Quang Tay and south of Jiangxi, the accumulated rainfall during the month is forecast to reach 150-300mm and exceed 400mm in some areas.
The Department of Natural Disaster Prevention of Quang Dong province called on units to "do their utmost" to ensure the safety of people's lives and property.
China's Ministry of Water Resources also sent 3 working groups from Beijing to Guangdong on April 21.
According to emergency services, hundreds of people had to evacuate their homes in Thanh Vien and Thieu Quan. No casualties were reported.
Heavy rains caused severe flooding and landslides, forcing some train services to be suspended and some highways to close over the weekend.
The humid weather also caused dozens of flights at Bach Van International Airport in Guangzhou to be delayed.
Richard Liang, who passed through the affected areas on a high-speed train from Hunan province on the morning of April 21, told SCMP that the storms had apparently stopped in key areas but the flooding looked terrifying.
Its not raining but the sky is gloomy. From afar, the Bac Giang River is rising, the water is cloudy. The water level of the rivers rose, the ground floors of buildings next to the rivers and lakes were flooded. The buildings look as if soaked in water," he said.
This witness shared that many cars were also damaged, trees fell and agricultural land was flooded.
This is the second major flood to occur in Quang Dong province this month. Thunderstorms made landfall in the southern part of Guangzhou two weeks ago, marking the unprecedented early flood season since 1998. More than 800 people were evacuated as the water rose.
