The flooding has forced over 1.3 million people from their homes, and in some cases, whole villages have been swept away by the flooding.
In China’s Yangtze River basin, 41,000 homes have been destroyed and 1.9 million hectares (4.7 million acres) of crops have been ruined, resulting in economic losses of more than 38 billion yuan ($5.70 billion), reports Reuters.
While flooding is common during the summer monsoon season, this year, the rains have been particularly heavy. China’s vice-premiere warned last month that a strong El Nino effect would probably result in a high risk of flooding in the Yangtze and Huai river basins.
The nation’s national observatory issued an Orange Alert for the country’s south and east last week — the second highest warning in a four-tiered system. Taihu Lake near Shanghai is at its highest level in years, and the area faces a serious risk of flooding if the typhoon hits on Friday.
Typhoon #Nepartak strengthens in the western North Pacific basin. pic.twitter.com/up2zXWDB5x
— WMO | OMM (@WMO) July 5, 2016
Even livestock are suffering as farmers rush to save what animals they can. Many pig farmers are slaughtering animals close to market weight and are concentrating their efforts at saving the youngsters.
Terrible #flood! Fierce torrent knocks off heads of big fish that fall off dam in central China's Hubei Province pic.twitter.com/0SP6FS0Ujh
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) July 4, 2016
It is the unsung heroes people often forget in times of crisis. These soldiers in the above picture have been working nonstop for days, with little or no sleep.
