Heavy Rains Batter Northeast China: 9,000 Relief Supplies Sent to Jilin as Floods Hit Communities
Three Chinese government departments have dispatched 9,000 units of central disaster relief supplies to Jilin Province as Typhoon Bavi continues to unleash catastrophic flooding across Northeast China. The disaster has forced the evacuation of over 364,000 people in Liaoning Province alone, while Shenyang — the region’s largest city — experienced its heaviest rainfall since 1951, described by meteorologists as a “once-in-a-century” event.
The Scale of the Disaster
Typhoon Bavi made landfall in China’s Zhejiang Province on July 11-12 before moving northeast, where its residual low-pressure system combined with a northeast cold vortex and subtropical high pressure to create extreme rainfall conditions. The resulting downpour has been nothing short of historic.
According to People’s Daily, the National Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Relief Committee activated a Level IV disaster relief response for Jilin on July 15, dispatching folding beds, mattresses, blankets, and family emergency kits to support affected communities. The central government has also allocated 4.3 billion yuan in emergency disaster relief funds across 10 provinces, with an additional 300 million yuan in central budget investment directed specifically to Liaoning for post-disaster recovery.
The China News Service reported that the Ministry of Emergency Management activated a National Level IV geological disaster response for Tianjin, Liaoning, and Jilin as early as July 11, as forecasts predicted extreme rainfall across the region.
Ground-Level Devastation
For residents, the flooding arrived with terrifying speed. Huang Qing, a resident of Shenyang’s Sujiatun District, told The Paper that water rose so suddenly she could barely react. “Inside the house is now all smelly mud,” she said. “We had no supplies储备, I hadn’t eaten all day.” Her neighborhood — like much of Shenyang — was left without power or running water for days.
Peng You, another Shenyang resident living near the Shenyang Agricultural University, described the scene: “All the vehicles parked downstairs were basically submerged. At the highest water level, you couldn’t even see the rooftops.” She noted this was the first time she had seen rain last so long.
In rural areas, the damage is equally severe. Wang Rou, a villager in Lingyuan City, Liaoning, described the rain as “like the heavens pouring water.” Her family’s cellar — stocked with millet, corn, and potatoes for the year — was completely flooded. “After being soaked, the millet has no rice flavor, it’s a bit bitter, and there’s mud in it,” she said.
Agricultural and Economic Toll
Northeast China is a major agricultural region, particularly for corn, which relies on a single annual harvest. The timing of the flooding — in mid-July, during the peak growing season — could not be worse for farmers.
Zhang Wei, a Tieling resident whose family farms in the countryside, explained the irreversible nature of the damage: “Northeast plants corn once a year, so for farmers, higher ground will see reduced yields, and lower ground will basically have zero harvest.” For rural families with annual incomes of 5,000 to 10,000 yuan, such losses represent a catastrophic blow to their livelihoods.
Government Response and Recovery
The response has been multi-layered and swift. Shenyang issued its highest-level (Level I) emergency response on the morning of July 13, triggering the suspension of schools, businesses, and workplaces across the city and surrounding areas including Fushun, Jinzhou, Tieling, and Panjin.
According to the Worker’s Daily, the National Flood Control Response for Jilin was raised to Level III on July 14, as the Songhua River’s Jilin section declared its “2026 No. 1 Flood.” Over 80 reservoirs across the region exceeded flood control limits and are undergoing controlled releases.
Relief efforts are ongoing. Rescue teams using inflatable boats have been evacuating residents from flooded neighborhoods, while fire crews and utility workers race to restore power and water services. The Ministry of Water Resources has been closely monitoring the situation, with Chief Forecaster Chen Tao of the Central Meteorological Observatory noting that under climate change, weather extremes are intensifying and becoming increasingly difficult to predict.
What’s Next
As of July 16, recovery operations continue across Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang provinces. Many communities remain without power or clean water, and the full extent of agricultural damage is still being assessed. Compounding the crisis, a new typhoon — Typhoon Haishen — formed on July 13 and is following a similar path, raising concerns of further rainfall in already saturated regions.
The disaster serves as a stark reminder of the growing threat posed by climate change, as extreme weather events push beyond historical benchmarks and challenge existing infrastructure and emergency response systems.