Horrific global heating impacts on humans are undeniable as dramatic and deadly weather events wreak havoc across the Globe. One of the powerful weapons the climate crisis uses against us is changing rainfall patterns. In the United States, we are witnessing the desertification of the western half of the country.
In other areas of the planet, heavy flooding has been killing hundreds (if not thousands) of people from Africa to Europe and many places in between. Oman, Uganda, New York, Germany, Belgium, Arizona, and India have all flooded over the past week,
The most recent and devastating example is industry-heavy central china which is suffering the worst flooding ever in this region of the country. Over eighteen inches of rain fell over 12 hours and raised water levels from the Yellow River valley to catastrophic levels affecting over 94 million people. To date, officials claim 12 people killed (simply not believable-video evidence). Parts of the subway systems have become a tomb.
Graphic videos are coming out of China, some of which I embed below. They contradict the official lines of the Chinese government. Please use discretion and not open the clips if you are disturbed by them. You have been warned.
Accuweather writes that cumulative rainfall totals over several days are mind-boggling:
Torrential rainfall unleashed extreme flooding in multiple provinces of China over the past weekend. Videos showed boats plunging over a waterfall, people clinging to trees, and rescuing others.
AccuWeather meteorologists say an area of low pressure is partially to blame for these dramatic flooding scenes.
"An area of low pressure developed across central China and tracked northeastward across the region over the weekend," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said. "This low helped to enhance rainfall along its path."
Robust thunderstorms developed rapidly on Sunday in Sichuan Province, located in southwestern China, and quickly let loose 4-6 inches (100-150 mm) in rain, according to Douty.
NASA estimates that as much as 18 inches of rain (457 mm) have fallen in localized parts of China during the last week.
Accuweather gave us a new term that we will come to hear more often.
Training describes a phenomenon when thunderstorms repeatedly build back over the same locations that have already been impacted by storms. It's akin to multiple cars of a freight train passing over the same section of track, one after the other. Rainfall totals quickly skyrocket for locations trapped under training thunderstorms.
Additional heavy rain is not out of the question this week for locations that have already dealt with flash flooding. However, AccuWeather forecasters say the opportunities for the heaviest rainfall will likely be localized in nature, rather than widespread.
According to the AccuWeather severe weather advisories map, various advisories were issued for Beijing and areas to the northeast on Monday night.
See Fish’s comment regarding a portion of the below tweet.
Henan province builds our iPhones.
Henan is one of China's biggest wheat-producing areas and a major manufacturer of machinery, while Zhengzhou is home to the largest iPhone-making plant, owned by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. The flooding struck just as the company, known also as Foxconn, prepares to ramp up output ahead of the launch of Apple Inc.'s latest devices toward the end of the year.
Hon Hai's plant in Zhengzhou receives components needed to assemble iPhones from global and domestic Chinese suppliers before shipping out the finished producers. A representative for Hon Hai said it was looking into the situation.
Henan is also China's second-largest food supplier, accounts for about a quarter of the country's wheat harvest and is a major center for frozen food production. It is also a key hub for coal and metals.
Don’t believe your lying eyes, everyone.
People have been caught inside subway cars and subway tunnels, and many understandably panicked as floodwaters were up to their throats. According to reports out of China, the famed Shaolin temple north of the worst flooding located on a mountain was still heavily damaged.
The Shaolin temple…
From the Guardian:
Days of torrential rain and massive flooding have hit China’s Henan province, bursting the banks of rivers, overwhelming dams and the public transport system and forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes.
At least 12 people have been killed in the provincial capital, Zhengzhou, and another four in the nearby city of Gongyi as 14 reservoirs overflowed, sparking flooding and landslides, state media said. The provincial authorities issued its highest level of weather warning. A year’s worth of rain – 640mm – fell in just three days. The city’s weather bureau said more than 552mm of rain had fallen between 7pm Monday and 7pm Tuesday, including 202mm between 4 and 5pm on Tuesday.
About 200,000 people have been moved to shelters, state media Xinhua reported on Wednesday, citing local government. The rainfall flooded the city’s subway system, collapsed roads, and prompted the suspension of inbound flights.
This woman was pulled to safety. This one was not; she and others drowned (graphic).
Floods are common in China’s rainy season, but their impact has worsened over the decades, due in part to China’s rapid urbanisation and the global climate crisis.
Extreme weather events have occurred in many parts of China this summer. Hundreds of thousands of residents in Sichuan province had to be relocated this month due to floods and landslides.
In June, Hotan city, in the far-west region of Xinjiang, had record-breaking rainfall, causing one resident to comment on social media that “the rainfall [this month] is equivalent to the combined rainfall of the past two years”.
Two Mongolian dams collapse.
China destroyed the below dam with explosives to divert the water from the heavily populated centers in Henan province.
NBC News reports on man’s contribution to urban and human infrastructure from heavy rainfall.
Part of the Yellow River basin in China, Henan has several major river systems running through the province which are prone to flooding.
Zhengzhou, which has a population of 12 million, sits on the banks of the Yellow River itself.
Scientists have warned that widespread dam construction has exacerbated climate change problems in China's flood zone, says the BBC's China correspondent Stephen McDonell.
Connections between rivers and lakes have been cut and disrupted flood plains which once absorbed much of the region's annual summer downpours.
Torrential rainfall unleashed extreme flooding in multiple provinces of China over the past weekend. Videos showed boats plunging over a waterfall, people clinging to trees, and rescuing others.
AccuWeather meteorologists say an area of low pressure is partially to blame for these dramatic flooding scenes.
"An area of low pressure developed across central China and tracked northeastward across the region over the weekend," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said. "This low helped to enhance rainfall along its path."
Robust thunderstorms developed rapidly on Sunday in Sichuan Province, located in southwestern China, and quickly let loose 4-6 inches (100-150 mm) in rain, according to Douty.
NASA estimates that as much as 18 inches of rain (457 mm) have fallen in localized parts of China during the last week.
Remember, there is no do-over with climate. We are at the beginning of the crisis and have seen nothing yet. The flooding in China shows how vulnerable our urban areas are in particular to devastating flooding.
Be kind to each other.