Jialu River Embankment Breach in Henan Prompts Emergency Rescue Operations
A 30-meter-wide embankment breach on the Jialu River in the Chuanhui District of Zhoukou, Henan Province has triggered emergency flood control and rescue operations, with authorities evacuating 781 people and reporting no casualties. The breach occurred late on the night of August 13, caused by a combination of upstream floodwater from the Jialu River and backflow pressure from the Shaying River, according to Xinhua News.
Regional Flood Crisis
The breach is part of a broader flooding crisis affecting multiple areas of Henan, driven by the residual effects of Typhoon White Dolphin, which made landfall in Zhejiang on August 9. The storm’s remnants brought extreme rainfall to Henan starting August 10, with Pingdingshan, Xuchang, Luohe, and Zhoukou becoming rainfall centers where over 500mm of maximum point rainfall fell within 30 hours, as Jiemian News reported.
The Shaying River, the largest tributary of the Huai River, experienced its 2026 No. 1 flood, with water levels at the Zhoukou station reaching warning level (46.10m) on August 12. The Huaihe River Water Resources Commission subsequently upgraded to a red flood warning as water levels at the Luohe station exceeded the guaranteed level by 0.17 meters.
Evacuations and Flooding
Following the breach, authorities evacuated 781 people from the affected area with no reported casualties. The Zhoukou Fifth People’s Hospital campus and a driving school were flooded, with water depths reaching up to 1.5 meters. By the morning of August 14, 357 patients and medical staff plus 75 people from the driving school had been safely evacuated, totaling 432 people, according to New Hunan.
Eyewitness accounts highlight the human impact of the disaster. Zhang Chi, head of Henan Quanwang Seed Industry Co., Ltd., told Jiemian News that his experimental fields for cowpea breeding, located just 2 kilometers from the breach, were severely flooded. “We had just drained the water from our fields, and within less than 24 hours the embankment breached and river water kept flowing back into the fields,” he said. If high-quality seed varieties were lost, damages could reach millions of yuan.
Villager Zhou Yi from Zhouzhuang, Xihua County, noted that his village was evacuated on August 13. “Some villagers chose to stay with relatives, while others were settled at Shidian Primary School or No. 12 Middle School,” he said. He noted this was not the first evacuation - the village was also evacuated during the July 2021 Zhengzhou floods, but no breach occurred then.
Rescue Operations Underway
The Ministry of Emergency Management dispatched 200 personnel from China Anneng engineering rescue forces with 110 units of heavy equipment, including pontoon bridges, amphibious excavators, and loaders. They arrived at the scene on the morning of August 14, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.
Rescue teams are using a dual-end approach - placing shipping containers to stabilize the embankment base while filling the middle with stone materials. The Ministry of Water Resources convened a special meeting on August 14 morning, with Minister Li Guoying subsequently traveling to Henan to direct flood control operations, as Lianhe Zaobao reported.
Multiple Breaches Across Henan
The Jialu River breach was one of three embankment breaches occurring in the same period. A breach at the Bei Ru River in Jia County, Pingdingshan (approximately 47.5 meters wide) was successfully sealed on the evening of August 14 after nearly two days of continuous work, while a breach at the Qingyi River in Yanling County, Xuchang (over 10 meters wide) was also under repair, according to CCTV via Hubei Net.
To relieve pressure on the Shaying River system, the Nihewa flood detention area was activated in the early hours of August 13. Zhang Caiting, Deputy Director of the Flood and Drought Disaster Prevention Division at the Huaihe River Water Resources Commission, explained that without timely activation, downstream river embankment defenses would face increased pressure, raising the probability of major incidents such as embankment overtopping and breaches.
What’s Next
Sealing operations at the Jialu River breach continue around the clock, with multiple rescue forces working in coordination. The Ministry of Water Resources has called for comprehensive inspections of river embankments along the Jialu River and downstream Shaying River, with particular attention to seepage and leakage risks. As floodwaters gradually recede, the focus will shift to assessing agricultural damage and supporting affected communities in their recovery efforts.
China News Service photo documentation shows the scale of the operation, with heavy machinery working day and night at the breach site. The successful sealing of the Bei Ru River breach provides a template for the ongoing efforts at the Jialu River, though officials caution that the situation remains fluid as water levels continue to be monitored.