2021 China floods

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2021 China floods

In 2021, China was hit by widespread floods from June to October. Heavy rain caused most of the flooding, and the World Meteorological Organization says such rain events are linked to climate change. The worst floods were in Henan, where about 398 people were killed or went missing.

Key floods and impacts

- June: Rivers like Heilongjiang and Nenjiang rose, and the Heilongjiang flood even reached Russia. By June 26, more than 19,000 people were evacuated in Daxinganling, Heihe, and Mudanjiang, and thousands of hectares of crops were damaged. Chongqing recorded heavy rain and activated emergency measures on June 28.

- July: In Guizhou, floods displaced about 26,000 people and damaged around 19,300 houses. In Henan, record rainfall caused severe floods from mid-July, hitting Zhengzhou and other cities and resulting in hundreds of deaths or disappearances (about 398). On July 12, floods affected the Mount Wutai area in Xinzhou, and Jincheng raised its rain alert to the highest level. On July 19, two dams collapsed near Hulunbuir, destroying bridges and farmland. From July 22–23, floods in Luonan County forced more than 58,000 to evacuate.

- August: On August 9, Sichuan evacuated about 80,000 people. By August 28, Shaanxi floods affected 74 counties, with Ankang relocating about 23,800 people.

- October: From October 2–8, Shaanxi floods displaced about 120,000 people and suspended operations at about 60 coal mines. Landslides and floods killed at least 15 people in Taiyuan, Jincheng, and Linfen. A dyke broke on the Fenhe River in Yuncheng. In Hebei’s Pingshan, a submerged road caused a bus to plunge into the Hutuo River, killing 14 people.

Other notable impacts

- Flooding disrupted transport in Shanghai and Jiangsu during late July, due to Typhoon In-fa.
- In five cities in Hubei, red alerts were issued after heavy rainfall, with nearly 6,000 people evacuated.
- Yicheng recorded very heavy rain, and 21 people died in Liulin township, Suizhou.

Overall toll

The floods of 2021 in China caused hundreds of deaths and widespread damage, with the total number of deaths and missing people reaching about 449. Many more were injured or left homeless, and large areas of farmland and infrastructure were affected.