China Enters Critical Flood Control Period as Heavy Rains Trigger Alerts and River Floods

China has officially entered its most critical flood control period, known as "Qi Xia Ba Shang" (late July to early August), with heavy rainfall sweeping across both northern and southern regions. The Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Natural Resources have activated emergency responses and issued warnings for geological hazards and flooding. Multiple rivers, including the Mudanjiang and Qingyi, have recorded their first major floods of 2026, prompting local authorities to evacuate residents, pre-discharge reservoirs, and reinforce dikes.

The "Qi Xia Ba Shang" period represents the peak of China's flood season, where simultaneous heavy rains in the north and south significantly elevate the risk of river flooding and geological disasters. This critical phase directly impacts public safety, infrastructure resilience, and summer travel, requiring highly coordinated emergency responses across multiple provinces.

China has officially entered its most critical flood control period, traditionally referred to as "Qi Xia Ba Shang" (late July to early August), marked by intensifying rainfall across both northern and southern regions [6a5a7c5757d1b69d0d1bb764]. On July 19, the Central Meteorological Observatory maintained blue alerts for both heavy rain and severe convective weather, forecasting continued downpours from Yunnan and Guangxi to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River over the next three days [6a5ca0c657d1b69d0d1f458d]. The heavy precipitation has triggered significant hydrological activity. On July 17, the water flow of the Qingyi River in Sichuan rose to 9,280 cubic meters per second, marking the formation of the "Qingyi River 2026 No. 1 Flood" [6a5a7c5757d1b69d0d1bb764]. By July 19, nine rivers across Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Xinjiang had exceeded warning levels [6a5ca0c657d1b69d0d1f458d]. Notably, the Mudanjiang River in the northeast registered its "2026 No. 1 Flood" on July 17, leading local authorities in Ningan, Heilongjiang, to construct emergency sub-dikes to contain the rising waters [6a5ca0c657d1b69d0d1f458d]. In response, the Ministry of Water Resources has maintained a Level III flood defense emergency response for Liaoning and Jilin, and a Level IV response for nine other provinces, including Guangdong, Sichuan, and Hubei [6a5ca0c657d1b69d0d1f458d]. Nine specialized working groups have been dispatched to the frontlines in Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and Guangxi to guide local defense efforts [6a5ca0c657d1b69d0d1f458d]. Geological hazards remain a severe concern. Following a mountain collapse in Pengshui County, Chongqing, which involved approximately 18,000 cubic meters of rock, the Ministry of Natural Resources deployed over 120 experts to assist in emergency rescue and monitoring [6a5ca0c657d1b69d0d1f458d]. Authorities warned that unstable rock masses remaining at the site pose a high risk of secondary collapse under continued rainfall [6a5ca0c657d1b69d0d1f458d]. Consequently, the Ministry of Natural Resources has ordered nationwide inspections of geological hazard risks, focusing heavily on tourist destinations, construction sites, and areas previously saturated by heavy rains [6a5ca0c657d1b69d0d1f458d]. Local governments are actively deploying preventative measures. In Shandong, authorities pre-discharged 286 million cubic meters of water from reservoirs to create flood storage capacity [6a5a7c5757d1b69d0d1bb764]. Guangdong officials have sent over 210 million warning text messages to residents, while Guangxi's Liuzhou has established round-the-clock multi-department consultations to push real-time weather alerts [6a5a7c5757d1b69d0d1bb764].