Almost 20,000 people have evacuated their homes after flooding in Heilongjiang Province in northern China. Thousands of people are also affected by flooding in nearby parts of Inner Mongolia.

Floods in Daxinganling Prefecture, Heilongjiang Province, June 2021. Photo: Heilongjiang Provincial Fire Department

China’s Ministry of Emergency Management said that due to continuous rainfall, levels of Heilongjiang and Nenjiang rivers have been rising since mid-June.

On 22 June authorities upgraded the emergency response after the upper reaches of Heilongjiang River exceeded warning levels. The river, known as the Amur across the border in Russia, is also flooding areas of Russia’s Amur Oblast, where 2,500 people have been evacuated.

As of 26 June 2021, over 19,000 people had evacuated and 42,000 people were affected by the flooding in Daxinganling, Heihe, Mudanjiang and other places in Heilongjiang Province. Thousands of hectares of crops have been damaged.

Meanwhile flooding is also affecting Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The Ministry of Emergency Management reports 47,000 people were affected in Hulunbuir City.

Also in the north, media in China reported severe flooding in Dalian and surrounding Liaoning Province on 28 June. Emergency teams were called on to carry out flood rescues.

Further south, heavy rainfall was reported on 28 June in Chongqing municipality, which is situated at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers in southwestern China. Authorities warn that rivers in the area are likely to rise. Parts of Xiushan County recorded 175 mm of rain in 24 hours to 28 June.