China Issues Red Warning for Mountain Flood Disasters
China’s Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration jointly issued a red mountain flood disaster meteorological warning on the evening of August 2, signaling a very high risk of flash floods in parts of Sichuan, Chongqing, and Shaanxi provinces. The warning, effective through the following evening, marks the second consecutive day of red-level alerts as heavy rainfall continues to batter central and western China.
Warning Scope and Severity
According to China News, the red warning designates areas where mountain flood disasters are highly likely, including parts of northeastern Sichuan, central Chongqing, and southeastern Shaanxi. An orange warning—indicating a high probability of mountain floods—covers northeastern Inner Mongolia, central and southern Chongqing, northern Guizhou, and southeastern Shaanxi. The People’s Daily reported that authorities urged all localities to strengthen real-time monitoring, flood prevention warnings, and evacuation preparedness, noting that other regions may also face mountain flood risks from localized short-duration heavy rainfall.
Escalating Flood Response
The red warning follows a similar alert issued on August 1 for eastern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi, reflecting a rapidly deteriorating flood situation across multiple provinces. The Ministry of Water Resources has activated a Level IV flood defense emergency response for Chongqing and dispatched a working group to assist frontline defense operations, as Interface News reported.
In a coordinated national response, the National Flood Control Headquarters and the Ministry of Emergency Management activated Level IV flood emergency responses for Beijing and Hebei on the morning of August 2, and for Guizhou later that day. The Ministry of Water Resources also issued targeted “one province, one list” warnings to 17 provinces, providing specific information on rainfall coverage areas, reservoir lists, and mountain flood risk zones.
Rivers Reaching Flood Stage
The heavy rainfall has pushed multiple river systems to flood stage. The Songhua River experienced its first flood of 2026 on August 2, with the Jiamusi hydrological station recording a water level of 79.49 meters in the early morning hours, according to Beijing Time. The Gan River, a tributary of the Nen River in Heilongjiang Province, also experienced its first flood of 2026 the same day. By mid-morning on August 2, 20 rivers in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, and Hebei remained above warning levels.
Mass Evacuations and Transport Disruptions
The scale of the emergency is evident in the evacuation numbers. In Shaanxi, 36,612 households—representing 87,987 people—were evacuated between July 30 and August 3. In Sichuan, 64,609 people were preemptively evacuated in a 24-hour period ending on the morning of August 2. The China Weather Net noted that Sichuan had experienced multiple rounds of heavy rainfall with already saturated soil, significantly increasing risks of mountain floods and geological disasters.
Transportation has also been severely affected. On August 3, China Railway Chengdu Group suspended 92 trains due to the heavy rainfall, including services on the Shanghai-Kunming Railway, Xi’an-Chengdu High-Speed Railway, and Lanzhou-Chongqing Railway. Beijing’s suburban railway lines also suspended all train services.
Multi-Department Coordination
On the morning of August 2, the National Flood Control Headquarters Office and the Ministry of Emergency Management organized a multi-department joint consultation with the China Meteorological Administration, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources, and other agencies to assess the situation. Officials emphasized that China is entering the critical “mid-August” phase of the flood season, urging all localities to “strengthen risk awareness, firmly establish bottom-line and extreme thinking, consider risks more comprehensively, and deploy measures more solidly,” as reported by Workers’ Daily.
What to Watch
The flood situation remains fluid as heavy rainfall is forecast to continue across Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, and Shaanxi. The approaching Typhoon “Baihai Tun” remains over 3,000 kilometers from China’s coast and is not expected to affect coastal waters before August 5, though its eventual path could influence weather patterns in the coming week. Authorities continue to monitor river levels and mountain flood risks closely, with the “upstream blows the whistle, downstream evacuates quickly” principle guiding evacuation coordination across affected regions.